Coleen: Single and stressed
Coleen Nolan’s been through the mill lately – is the strain of her recent split starting to show?
Coleen Nolan has had a tough time lately. In fact, in February, she described the year just gone as ‘hellish’. Seen out recently, it appeared that the stress is starting to show, as the TV star appearing tired and washed out.
The Loose Woman is, of course, negotiating a painful divorce, after finally giving up on her 10-year marriage to second husband Ray Fensome, sadly saying, ‘My future is going to be very different to the one I imagined.’
On top of that, she is most likely fretting about older sister Linda – who was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year.
It must be terrifying, especially as Coleen already lost one sister, Bernie, to the devastating disease in 2013.
Her own health could be keeping the star up at night, too. During live blood testing recently on the ITV show, she was revealed to be at risk from type 2 diabetes.
But is she lonely, too? Coleen, 53, who was married to cheating first husband Shane Richie between 1990 and 1999, also said that, following her split from musician Ray, she’s looking for love again – except, love’s not exactly forthcoming.
‘The shop is open 24 hours, but there just aren’t any customers!’ she quipped.
The mother-of-three, we know, is extremely good at turning everything into a joke, loving to provoke giggles in her fellow panellists. But, sometimes, humour is a form of self-defence – masking real pain and in Coleen’s case, perhaps loneliness, too. In 2016, she called the empty nest syndrome she experienced after her boys left home as ‘one of the loneliest times’ of her life. Now, she is single again to add to her feelings of isolation.
Earlier this year, when Coleen first went public about the end of her 17-year relationship, she struggled not to break down, confessing, ‘It is really sad, but it happens, and instead of sitting here or staying with someone, because I’m scared of being on my own, or I’m nearly 53, do I want to be on my own at 53?’
Heartbreakingly, she then admitted, ‘It’s one of those times I wish Mum was here.’
You see, it’s all very well bravely declaring you’ll move on, alone. Perhaps now, a few months in, the cold reality of her situation is hitting home for Coleen.
‘It is really sad, but it happens... I’m scared... Do I want to be on my own at 53?’