Archive May 11, 2025

This Morning star and best-selling author, Michelle Elman, opened up about her friendships in her new book, Bad Friend: Why Friendship Breakups Hurt and How to Heal

This Morning star and life coach Michelle Elman formed an immediate rapport with her fans in the first few pages of her newest book as she shared details of the painful friendship breakups she experienced throughout her life. One painful moment saw a long-term friend cut ties with her a day after she publicly announced the end of her engagement.

In early 2024, the best-selling author revealed to her loyal Instagram fans that she got engaged to her partner, whose identity she never revealed, after dating for three years. Her happiness was short-lived when she learned he was cheating on her. She discovered the heart wrenching news from the woman he cheated on her with as the person was actually already following her on social media.

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Michelle said at the time: “She’s a lovely woman, and she didn’t know, and you’ve got to love his taste in women. You’ve got to laugh. We’re laughing and crying a lot over here.”

The woman showed proof of the infidelity, with receipts and emails, and her relationship quickly crumbled before her eyes as she suddenly found herself navigating life as a single woman who was dealing with the aftermath of an unforgivable betrayal.

However, the demise of her engagement wasn’t the only blow to her life at the time as a pal soon popped up to end their friendship despite Michelle already suffering through a turbulent time.

In an exclusive interview with Mirror Online, Michelle opened up about the shock text she received in what she called ‘cruel timing’ from her former friend.

The painful friendship breakup is of the many things Michelle divulged in her new book, Bad Friend: Why Friendship Breakups Hurt and How to Heal, and in her conversation with us she went into further detail on the ‘weird timing’ of her ex friend’s text.

In the second page of her new book, which was five years in the making, Michelle wrote: “I have always said that a friendship breakup can be as painful as a romantic one but I finally have the proof.

“The day after I publicly announced the ending of my engagement online, one of my friends that I have known since we were eleven ended our friendship, and it hurt more than what I was going through romantically.”

When asked to expand on what happened between her and the friend, Michelle told us the mystery person “hadn’t replied to her in six weeks” before she was faced with the unanticipated end to their relationship.

She revealed: “I publicly announced my engagement. I then publicly announced the breakup three weeks later. Even though it happened the day after, I announced it three weeks later, and she sent me a text the next day. It was very weird timing. Very cruel timing.

“It was a very public breakup, and there’s no way she wouldn’t have known about it. I have a private [Instagram] account. Oh, I used to before but the breakup kind of deleted that account. I had a private account and I had a public account. There’s no way she wouldn’t have seen it.

“But choosing this timing, especially when you waited six weeks, is something I can’t understand.” Thankfully, she regained her faith in humanity when former friends reached out to her to check if she was doing okay.

She added:” No matter how things ended, even if, and with some of the friends, it was really bad fights, no matter what hurtful thing had been said, like the love and care you have for a person was still there. Some of these people I’ve not spoken to in five years, and just sent me a text, and they were was like,” hey, just want to check on you. I hope you’re okay”.”

In her new book, Bad Friends, Michelle explores female friendships as she helps readers understand the ups and downs of platonic relationships and how to handle things when it goes wrong.

The author is known for her being a direct person, which is seen in her book, but her honesty didn’t come without hurtful comments from others. She said: “You get penalised for being a direct person, I’m a very direct woman, because I believe that’s the way you should be, and it’s taken many years to be that way.

“But as a result, the names I get called are direct, rude, harsh, aggressive. I’ve even had abusive thrown at me, and I’m not abusive in any means, but I’m also not a person who you can walk all over.”

Michelle first got the idea for Bad Friend in 2019 after struggling through a friendship break up. Throughout the course of working on the book, she saw three friendship end – one of which occurred this year.

“I literally was like, ‘Again?!'” she laughed before explaining how she added a disclaimer in the introduction of her book, telling readers in the very first sentence: “I am not sure I am healed enough to write this book. And yet I am writing it anyway because it needs to be said: friend- ship breakups suck.”

Bad Friend: Why Friendship Breakups Hurt and How to Heal by Michelle Elman is published in hardback at £20 by Renegade Books on 8 May 2025*

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Big Brother star Imogen Thomas has opened up about the heartbreaking impact of her mum’s Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis — and in an exclusive interview, admits she’s now “dreading” their upcoming holiday to Italy as her condition worsens.

Big Brother star Imogen Thomas has shared the heartbreaking reality of her mum’s ongoing battle with motor neurone disease, admitting during an exclusive chat with OK! that sadly, she’s “dreading” an upcoming holiday as her mother’s condition continues to worsen.

The Welsh model, 42, revealed in an exclusive chat with us, that her mum Janette was diagnosed with the progressive neurological disease in 2023, and although she’s “OK right now,” the impact on her daily life has been devastating.

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“Her right side has gone now, so it’s dead,” Imogen shared, speaking candidly about how the illness is affecting her family right now. “I go home a lot, now. I’m home once a month to Wales, for four days at a time.”

In an emotional moment, the former Miss Wales revealed she’d booked a trip to Italy for herself and her mum after bidding on it at a motor neurone disease charity event – but now the excitement has been replaced by worry.

“We’re going on holiday soon. I bid for a holiday at a MND charity event, so she and I could go to Italy in June, but now I’m dreading it because the circumstances and how she feels have changed,” she admitted. “But we are trying to stay positive.”

The mum-of-two, who shares daughters Ariana, 12, and Siera, 10, with ex-partner Adam Horsley, might be known for her glam appearance and social media presence – but says dealing with her mum’s health has shifted her priorities and grounded her.

Despite everything going on behind the scenes, Imogen’s life hasn’t slowed down. She recently returned from a family holiday to Turkey, continues to build her property portfolio, and is in a steady relationship with her banker boyfriend of two years. But she admitted the emotional toll of her mum’s illness looms large.

Imogen is still as outspoken and candid as ever, opening up about motherhood, cosmetic surgery, and her future plans – including a possible third boob job, this time a reduction, due to back pain and discomfort. But when it comes to her girls, she’s adamant she’d discourage them from following in her footsteps with surgery. “I’d do everything to avoid it, because I know they would regret it,” she said, adding, “I really don’t want them to.”

The reality star and Miss Wales 2003, who rose to fame on Big Brother in 2006, says she has no regrets about her time on the show and would even go back, telling us: “I loved it, and if they asked me to go on it now, I would.” But for now, her focus is firmly on her family – and being there for her mum, one day at a time.

Prince Harry chose a very special gift in honour of Prince Louis’s christening – and it was inspired by his own childhood memories with his late mother, Princess Diana

Prior to his estrangement from the royal family, Prince Harry delighted in being an uncle to Prince William and Princess Kate’s three young children. The royal couple welcomed their first child Prince George in July 2013, followed by sister Princess Charlotte in May 2015. Their family was complete when Prince Louis was born in April 2018.

Writing in Spare about George’s birth, Harry said: “I was an uncle. Willy and Kate had welcomed their first child, George, and he was beautiful. I couldn’t wait to teach him about rugby and Rorke’s Drift, flying and corridor cricket — and maybe give him a few pointers about how to survive life in the fishbowl.”

Similarly, Harry said he was “thrilled to bits” by the news of Charlotte’s birth, stating that he “couldn’t be happier for Willy and Kate”. And he was equally smitten with little Prince Louis.

The Sun previously reported that for Prince Louis’s christening, Harry gifted the youngest Wales child a first edition of A.A Milne’s classic Winnie-The-Pooh – a gesture that apparently set him back £8,000.

“One of Harry’s happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother,” an insider told the newspaper. “She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, Charlotte, and George to enjoy as they get older.”

Prior to Louis’s arrival, Harry told the Mirror that he wanted George and Charlotte to share in a very specific part of his upbringing. “I would definitely encourage George, and Charlotte if she wants to, to have some sort of involvement in the Armed Forces, guaranteed. It’s done no harm, just good, for me, and I know it’s the same for William,” he said.

“As an uncle, you know, I would say enjoy the [royal] role, because at first it’s just pressure, pressure, pressure. If you’re going to be doing it and you’re having an effect on so many people then, if you smile, they’re smiling – and what’s the point of doing such a unique job without enjoying it?”

Of course, Harry is now a father himself – he and his wife Meghan Markle welcomed son Archie in May 2019 and daughter Lilibet in June 2021. But the family, who live together in Montecito, California, now have very little contact with their royal relatives.

Harry and Meghan are now all but estranged from his family having levelled a number of accusations at the Firm. As such, a huge gulf has developed, and the Sussexes are said to have been ‘cut off’ by prominent royals, including Prince William. Archie, six, and Lilibet, three, have not visited the UK since 2022, with the youngest of the two Sussex children having only met King Charles once.

As royal expert Jennie Bond previously noted: “At the moment, the children don’t know any difference, but as they grow up Harry and Meghan will have some delicate manoeuvring to negotiate to explain the situation. It must be something that troubles Harry as a dad.”

Jennie continued: “Imagine Archie, aged 15, telling his friends, ‘My grandpa is/was King! And my uncle is/will be King too.’ But he hardly knew or met them. How sad… and Meghan would have to bear the brunt of the responsibility for that.”

Strictly Come Dancing star Saffron Barker has revealed she was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery.

The TV and YouTube star, 24, revealed her latest health woes as she posted a photo of herself looking tearful as she was seen sat in a dentist chair while cuddling a soft toy. Sharing the image to her Instagram story, Saffron shared her nightmare week.

She wrote: “In the last week, iv been in hospital, had emergency surgery, got my rental car completely smashed up and every single thing i own stolen including my passport so cat get home”. [sic]

In a later post, she shared a thought-provoking quote which read: “You’ve made it through things you once thought would break you. Don’t forget to give yourself credit for that. You’re stronger than you know, and there’s more softness, more joy, and more magic ahead. Keep going.”

Saffron is yet to reveal why she was rushed to hospital or what the surgery was for. But, she has recently shared photos of herself in Palm Springs, California in the United States of America on her social media channels.

Last week, she posted a video of herself and her friends’ travels in the US as she showed off her hotel room and laughed and joked with pals. As she posted the video on her Instagram, Saffron wrote: “Come travel with us! PLEASE stick around for her penguin impression cry of laughter every time ..”

Meanwhile, Saffron later posted snaps of herself in gym wear while posing on the streets of Palm Springs.

Over on the star’s TikTok page, Saffron was seen looking loved up with her new boyfriend Josh Miln as the pair were seen getting ready in a hotel room ahead of a date night. Saffron was seen doing her hair and makeup before getting dressed in a red number while Josh helped her tie the back of her dress. As she posted the cute clip, she wrote in the caption: “My forever date @Josh Miln”.

On the post, concerned fans left comments after Saffron’s Instagram share about her hospital dash. One penned: “Just seen ur insta story hope ur okay saffron”. Another added: “I just saw your story, i seriously hope your okay. thinking of you” and a third wrote: “Just seen Instagram, what the hell is going on. Hope you are ok xx”.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, who took part in the 2019 series as she danced with AJ Pritchard, revealed in October she was rushed to hospital after suffering “shooting pains” and having “rashes all over my body”.

Saffron revealed how doctors were concerned she may have caught a disease while on holiday. Speaking of the ordeal at the time, she said: “I had all the symptoms (of a tropical disease) being, rashes all over my body, headache, body aches, shooting pains in my body, temperature, sore throat and ears etc.

“After getting my bloods taken turns out I didn’t have that but my white blood cells were half the number they should be so very low and therefore my whole body was trying to fight the infection.”