Loose Women star Coleen Nolan opens up about her ‘roller coaster’ year so far, what got her through the bad times and what’s next for her family – and her Loose Women colleagues
Coleen Nolan describes the past six months as an “emotional roller coaster” — with incredible highs and devastating lows. But the Loose Women favourite, who turned 60 in March, is at her bubbly best when she arrives at our exclusive photoshoot after a busy day at the ITV Studios. Given her bright mood, it’s only right that we start with her biggest high, becoming a grandmother again. Coleen’s daughter Ciara, 24, who lives with her fiancé Maxx in an annexe on Coleen’s Staffordshire farm, is five months pregnant with her first baby.
“I want to shout it from the rooftops,” beams Coleen. “Everything I do is for them. From the moment I had Shane at the age of 23, my kids have always been the most important thing. When Ciara first told me, I cried so much that she didn’t know if I was happy or not! ”
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As well as a sleepsuit embroidered with “How does Nanny and Grandad sound?”, Ciara also gave her mum strict instructions to keep the baby a secret. “It got to about 12 weeks and I told the Loose Women,” Coleen admits. “I was just so excited!”
The news was especially welcome after an incredibly difficult start to the year, with the death of her sister Linda, 65, who had been living with cancer. Attributed to pneumonia, Linda’s death hit Coleen “very hard”, and she found herself struggling to cope with normal life. She took time off from Loose Women and relied on friends and family, especially Ciara, to keep her going.
“Linda had cancer for 20 years and was so positive. I got to a point where I thought she’d outlive us all,” Coleen says. “Then when it happened, it happened so quickly. Afterwards, I didn’t want to get out of bed. It was overwhelming.
“My kids literally didn’t leave my side and when I needed to be alone, they would be in the next room. Ciara took control of everything and everyone that came round. I’d be asked to do something and say ‘yes’, and she’d jump in and tell them no, I wasn’t ready. ”
Adding to the whirlpool of emotions was Coleen’s 60th birthday in March. Losing Linda before that milestone gave her a bittersweet perspective. “You start questioning your own mortality. I was asking myself, ‘What’s all this for? ’ I didn’t want to work, I wanted to stay home with the animals. I’d really lost my mojo for everything, and that’s when I realised I needed professional help.
“Therapy has been the best thing I’ve ever done. I’ve had it on and off over the years and I’m always pushing people to have it, it’s still a bit of a taboo in this country, but it’s amazing.
“I really needed it this year because I didn’t know how to push forward and had an incredible sadness, and when it wasn’t sadness it was numbness. Therapy has absolutely saved me, my therapist can’t give me a pill or an operation to fix me, it ultimately has to come from me, but it gives me the belief and the courage that I’m strong enough to do it. ”
And doing it she is. As Coleen expertly navigates our shoot — in her element as she rummages through a rack of tulle skirts — her mojo is very much in evidence. She’s not someone to go down without a fight, even when the fights come a little too frequently.
There’s also the ongoing uncertainty at Loose Women , which has been the focus of her working life for 25 years. In May, ITV announced a raft of changes, including cutting the show to 30 weeks a year. The upshot is suspected job losses, and while there’s no word on the panellists yet, the news has hit Coleen hard.
“The crew have become family. I’ve watched them grow. Some of our runners from back in the day are producers, married with kids. I’ve shared my life with them. They’re in limbo, not knowing what they’re going to do,” she says.
“Loose Women isn’t ending, which I’m so thankful for, but it’s changing. It’s going to be very different in respect of the size of the crew, but it’s still running. Which it should be — there isn’t another show that celebrates and supports all women — every size, age, whatever. But it’s heartbreaking to see some of my colleagues not knowing what they’re going to do. Many of them have young families and mortgages. ”
Coleen is a realist, however, and understands that those at the top need to make tough decisions.
“You read about it all the time — a chain store’s shutting down and 300 people are affected. You go, ‘Oh, that’s awful. Anyway, what do you want for dinner? ’, because it doesn’t directly affect you. I’ve never been so close to it. It’s made me realise how much this is happening across the whole country at the moment and it’s devastating. ”
Coleen has firm friends at Loose Women and dismisses rumours of backstage feuds. “Honestly, it’s boring,” she laughs. “If there were feuds, you’d know. I can’t hide anything! I think it’s down to people not seeing us out together all the time because we all live in different parts of the country. But I see the Loose Women more often than my family. ”
Coleen says her colleagues have helped her through her toughest moments. They texted “every day” after Linda died, and were her closest confidantes after her split from Michael Jones, who she’d dated since 2021. Although they had a “fabulous” time, Coleen decided late last year that she only wanted a friendship. They’re not quite there yet, she says, but she’s hopeful.
Her focus for now is on her 30-odd animals living on her six-acre Staffordshire farm, but that’s not to say romance is off the cards completely. “I’d probably date again, but the men I meet are either married or gay, so I’ve no hope in the industry I’m in,” she says. “And I don’t go out to bars, unless they’re serving me a cup of tea. ”
Double dating with her Loose Women colleague Ruth Langsford is also off the table, for now at least. “Ruth’s definitely not going on dates yet. I’m trying to force her into it but she’s not having it. And I think she’d be a terrible wingwoman — she’d be too severe and say, ‘No, you’re not right, get away! ’”
Coleen met Michael on a dating app, and she’s not averse to going down that route again. But you won’t find her on celebrity dating app Raya because she “only lasted two days — it wasn’t for me”. She’s recently found an alternative, though.
“Apparently, there’s one that’s aimed at country folk, called Muddy Matches, so that’ll be the one I try when I’m up for it,” she says. “But whoever I date, I’m not sure I want their toothbrush in my bathroom. I’ve been in relationships my whole life and I’m enjoying having my house to myself, not worrying about anyone else.
“I do miss hugging and kissing, but not necessarily sex. That said, if I meet him and I fancy him, he’s getting it! You can’t beat a good snog and there’s only so many times I can kiss my boxer dog’s crinkly face. ”
Coleen isn’t exaggerating about kissing her dogs (and horses and goats) as anyone who’s watched her new YouTube channel will know. Launched last month, it shows her and Ciara’s daily life with their menagerie of animals and it’s fast become her favourite thing to film, despite the less-than-glamorous vibe.
“There are so many TV farm shows and I thought, ‘They’re not going to make one with me, so sod ’em, I’ll do my own! ’ And I love it. We’re free to be exactly who we are. We do decide what we might do and film that day, but it’s things we’d be doing anyway because we have animals to look after. Honestly, I’m obsessed with animals. And every time I go, ‘No, we’ve got enough now,’ I see an animal online and think I need to adopt them! We also have to cram a lot in, that’s life on a farm though. Plus there are always people popping by, who are equally as mad as we are, so it’s great fun. ”
“On Loose Women I’ve got make-up and hair people. I did ask if I should put make-up on for this, but the answer was no, because obviously I don’t normally wear pyjamas and make-up! Then you watch it back and think, ‘Holy Mother of God! ’
“It’s definitely been a battle with my self-confidence — I think we all want to look our best. But actually I love the freedom of it, to be exactly who we are. It’s special. And for the record, I started it before the news about Loose Women came out! ”
* Follow Coleen Nolan’s YouTube account @ColeenNolanOfficial
Source: Mirror
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