Coleen: “My marriage split was horrendous – I’m happier now!”
Single for the first time in nearly 30 years, Coleen Nolan opens up to Closer about the pain of divorce and losing her sister – and why she’s now got a new lease of life ● Tickets for Coleen’s 2019 Never Too Late tour are on sale now. The tour runs from
She’s about to step away from S her famous sisters to launch her first solo singing tour, but Coleen Nolan readily admits that she is far from confident. In fact, her decision to step on stage alone is part of a concerted effort to face her fears, after a painful few years involving the loss of her beloved sister Bernie, learning her older sister Linda has incurable cancer and, more recently, her divorce from guitarist Ray Fensome.
Coleen tells Closer, “I last toured as the Nolan Sisters in 2009 and remember standing on stage with Bernie and Ray, thinking I had my whole life mapped out. Now, nine years later, I’ve lost both those people. When I was first asked to tour alone, years ago, I didn’t have the nerve, but losing Ray and Bernie has taught me that you never know where life will take you. I’ve learned that it’s too short to let yourself be held back by fear and doubt.”
RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN
Bernie tragically died from cancer in July 2013 and Coleen, who’s 53, says it was the grieving process that forced her to reassess aspects of her own life, including her marriage. She and Ray met in 2000 and wed in 2007. They have daughter Ciara, 17, together, but Coleen also has sons Jake, 25, and Shane Jr, 29, from her marriage to actor Shane Richie.
“Losing Bernie made me think about what I wanted, and whether I should settle for what Ray and I had,” she explains. “As the children grew up, we ended up on different paths socially. He likes going out and partying, while I prefer to go for a walk or to the cinema. We just weren’t on the same wavelength any more, and it led to the breakdown of our relationship.
“We’d also lost the romantic and physical side of things, but I realised I wasn’t ready to give up on that in my fifties. If I’m going to be in a marriage, it’s got to be more than just friendship. It’s easy to think it’s too late to start again, but everyone deserves the chance to be happy.”
The pair announced their divorce in February, but remain firm friends – in fact, while Closer interviews Coleen in London, Ray, 60, is back at her Cheshire home looking after her dogs. But she admits that navigating their way to this point has been tough.
“You can’t divorce and laugh every day,” says the Loose Women presenter. “The last year or two were horrendous, awful and painful, and there were plenty of times when we didn’t speak. We’re much happier now as friends than we ended up being as husband and wife, but it took me three years to come to terms with that. I don’t think of our marriage as a failure, though, it just came to a natural end. How can 17 years with someone and a beautiful daughter be failure?”
So, now she’s embracing single life, is Coleen keen to enter the dating scene? At the very suggestion, she roars with laughter and squeals that she’s blushing.
DATING APPS
“I’m the biggest flirt, but if anyone ever takes me seriously, I die,” she giggles. “I haven’t been asked out yet, but I’m either with my girlfriends, at home, or at work, where the men tend to be in their early twenties or gay. It’s also hard to use dating apps when you’re in the public eye, and I wouldn’t know where to start.
“I’m quite happy on my own, though. I’ve been in relationships for nearly 30 years and I’m really enjoying not having to ask anybody’s opinion. Plus, Dairy Milk is better than any man I could hope for!”
Jokes aside, Coleen is trying to cut down on her favourite treats after being warned in June that her high blood sugar level is putting her at risk of diabetes. She admits the news “wasn’t a massive shock”, because her weight has fluctuated between a size 22 and a 10 over the past 11 years. Now, in a bid to stave off further health problems,
she’s avoiding sugar and adding an extra 20 minutes to her daily dog walk. She says, “I’m not eating lettuce leaves and carrots, I’ve just cut down on portion sizes and swapped crisps and Dairy Milk for fruit. Everyone always talks about losing weight on the divorce diet, but it never happened with me! FEELING JUDGED “I’m now a size 16, but I’m not trying to be a size 10. We women are always judged on our weight and looks, but when I go on tour I want to show that you can be whoever you want to be. At first, I hated my fifties, because Bernie died at my age and it made me question my mortality. But I’ve snapped myself out of it, and I’m determined to prove that it’s never too late to challenge your fears.”