This Morning’s beloved presenter Ben Shephard, who usually keeps his personal life out of the spotlight, was deeply moved by a viewer’s message that he opened up on his own “struggles” live on air.
During Wednesday’s episode (February 5), the TV favourite, aged 50, and his co-presenter Cat Deeley, 48, were joined by an expert to delve into the findings of new scientific research indicating that “people are happier in the morning”.
The revealing study by University College London (UCL) provides scientific backing for the notion that our spirits are naturally lifted higher in the AM than in the PM.
Eager for audience participation, the dynamic ITV duo asked viewers to share what might be dampening their joy currently. One viewer, named Nicole, bravely spoke about her battle with “loneliness” since her offspring had flown the nest for university.
Ben sympathised from personal experience as he responded: “We’re struggling with this as well in our house,” confirming the departure of his own son Sam to university and how her words hit close to home, reports .
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Ben Shephard and his wife Annie (Image: Ben Shephard Instagram)
Nicole sought advice from the programme on boosting her mood in the face of an empty household, prompting a heartfelt reaction from the Tipping Point host.
Ben has been happily wed to his wife Annie since 2004. The lovebirds originally locked eyes in 1994 and began dating the following year. They celebrated their deep connection with a private wedding ceremony tucked away in Devon after ten years of courtship.
Just a year after tying the knot, they were overjoyed by the arrival of their first son Sam, and in 2007, their second son Jack joined the family, making it complete. Their eldest is now on the cusp of 20, with Jack close behind at 18.
Ben discusses feeling ‘lonely’ after his son went off to Uni (Image: ITV)
Ben shared some sound advice with Nicole, revealing that he and his wife Annie had also faced the same challenges when their eldest, Sam, headed off to university.
To lift Nicole’s spirits as her children head back to school, Ben suggested: “I think one of the things we do when Sam’s gone back to Uni is we organise to actually do something so they’ve gone, so we’ll go out for a walk or go out for a drink or go out for dinner and we will distract from the fact the house is suddenly quiet.”
Ben opened up on homelife on the show (Image: ITV)
Cat concurred, noting: “It’s the quiet that makes you feel melancholic,” to which the host responded, highlighting the stark contrast in his home with wife Annie: “It’s enormous I’ve got men living in my house and it’s really annoying they take up so much space and when they’re gone the sofas are empty there’s not as much mess.”
He concluded with a tip: “So we try and go out and do something together, reconnect and then try and come back and it doesn’t seem quite so empty I think.”
This Morning airs weekdays on ITV1, from 10am.