Coleen goes missing
She’s one of the best-loved faces on Loose Women, so why did she fail to return to our screens last week?
It’s now the second week that Coleen Nolan has been absent from her seat on Loose Women leading to speculation on Twitter that the star has ‘gone missing’…
It’s certainly unusual for the much-loved funny girl to be away from the screen for so long, although on reflection she’s certainly had a tough start to the year.
In January, she gave up her much-loved column in best, wanting a break from talking about her private life.
Days later, she broke down in a Channel 5 show, admitting that her marriage to musician hubby Ray Fensome was ‘ hanging on by a thread’, openly admitting she wondered if they had come to the end of the road.
Speaking exclusive to best in 2014, a year after her sister, Bernie, died, she admitted that her sister’s death had affected her deeply.
‘After losing Bernie, I realised nothing is for ever,’ she said. ‘Don’t get me wrong. When I walked down the aisle both times [ her first marriage was to former EastEnders star Shane Richie], I meant every word. I never thought there was divorce, but after losing Bernie, I realised life holds no guarantees. If I work flat-out on my relationship and we both think it isn’t working, I’m OK with that.’
She added later, ‘Bernie dying so young has taught me that life is too short to be unhappy.’
After winning Celebrity Big Brother this year, Coleen made no secret of wanting some time out of the limelight to work on her marriage.
On top of that, she had to keep a dignified silence when her son, Jake Roche, split from his fiancée, Jesy Nelson, with the Little Mix singer talking of the ‘ horrendous pain’ of the break-up.
She also told best last September about how Jake ‘ broke my heart’ when he wrote about her troubled relationship with Shane in the lyrics of one of his songs… ‘ You shouldn’t see it when you are 10 years old…’
She also said she felt he was brave to open up about how ‘raw and messy’ life can be. So, no doubt, she admired his decision not to go on with a relationship if he had any worries about its survival.
In another sign that she needs time to herself, she
pulled out of a launch for what was supposed to be her first solo album at the last minute, asking the music promoters to give her some time off.
Then, two weeks ago, she dramatically admitted she feared that her long-lost half sister – her dad’s secret baby – might be one of the 800 children under three years old found recently in the mass grave in Ireland in the grounds of a mother and baby home.
Coleen’s not been seen in public since…
So what is going on? best spoke exclusively to the star’s agent, Melanie Blake, who said, ‘Coleen is touched by everyone’s concern. The truth is she needs some time away from the spotlight to get her head together. With so much going on in her family, she just wanted to be at home, so that’s why she cancelled all her appearances over the last few weeks.
‘She is sick of being criticised on Twitter, and now her allergies have flared up, making her skin sensitive to wearing make-up. She doesn’t want the scrutiny or heartache of being attacked online for not looking her best.’
So when exactly can we expect to see our favourite Loose Woman again?
‘She will be back on the show next week for sure,’ her agent told us exclusively.
We wish you well, Coleen.