Eamonn Holmes has spoken of his family's immense heartbreak following the death of wife Ruth Langsford's sister, Julia Johnson. This Morning star Ruth was left devastated when Julia took her own life in June 2019 at the age of 62, and now Eamonn has revealed the anguish faced by her loved ones in the wake of her passing.
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"It's just the unanswered questions. I mean, I experienced the sudden death of my father and there are a lot of loose ends – things where you wonder, what were your last words?" he told the Daily Star. "What way did you last deal with that person?"
Ruth pictured with her beloved sister, Julia
The 60-year-old continued: "Sudden death is a very, very difficult thing to deal with, and with Julia you know, she was just the most lovely, gentile, kind person.
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"I often used to joke to her and Ruth that I got the wrong sister, but she was a lovely, lovely person – tortured by mental depression.
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"Ruth was very caring, very loving to her and I think there can often be a guilt when you think, 'Should I have been there? Where was I?'"
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Julia had battled depression for a number of years. In the week following the tragic death, devastated Ruth was unable to go to work and broke down in tears on air during a This Morning phone-in on anxiety and depression two months later.
Ruth with her sister (front left) and her mother
Speaking to psychologist Emma Kenny on the show in February this year, Ruth publicly addressed her sister's death for the first time, explaining: "This happened in my family. I remember my shock at that. It's the questions it leaves the families."
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"You can't press the rewind button and what I would honestly say is that we were always very supportive," Eamonn added.
"We were a loving family, Ruth could not have done more for her sister, and I think you know, it takes a lot of getting over that, a lot of getting over."
