Yahoo News Inside Celebs Go Dating star Helen Flanagan's relationship with footballer ex
The pair have three children together
Helen Flanagan is apparently dating someone new, two years after splitting from her long-term partner Scott Sinclair.
The Coronation Street star signed up for Celebs Go Dating this year in a bid to find love again, but in a twist it has been reported that she is in a relationship with a footballer who she met outside of the E4 show. Flanagan's rumoured new romance come after a turbulent time in which she and Sinclair – who she has three children with – went their separate ways after 13 years together.
Flanagan and Sinclair first got together in 2009 and were thought to be one of the most solid couples in showbiz. But in 2022, their romance hit the rocks and they broke up.
So what went wrong? We have a look at their relationship and what Flanagan has said about it.
Disneyland engagement
Flanagan and Sinclair met in 2009 when footballer Sinclair was playing for Manchester City and they went on to have Matilda, eight, Delilah, six, and Charlie, three. They got engaged in 2018 when Sinclair popped the question during a trip to Disneyland Paris and were thought to have set a date for their big day.
However, the pair never made it down the aisle and split in 2022.
Psychosis episode
Flanagan was open with fans about her struggles after splitting from Sinclair and earlier this year revealed that she experienced an episode of psychosis. She told the Mirror she had been deeply affected by the end of her relationship and ended up taking ADHD medication to help her cope.
However, she had a bad reaction to the medication and spiralled into a psychotic episode. "“It was really sad and very scary. I was seeing things and I felt like I was in danger all the time," she said.
Flanagan opened up about it on a recent episode of ITV's Loose Women, after telling the panel: "Scott was my world, I always thought we were going to be together, always."
Panellist Denise Welch said: "I just know that you really struggled - could you just take us through because you had a breakdown, a real psychotic breakdown."
"Gosh, I didn't think I would get so emotional today!" the actor replied, tearfully. She added: "I think it was just sometimes when I see the headlines it could just be really triggering. I just think what it was - I didn't really want to talk about it and I think the reason why I spoke about it was because I just started to do a six-month theatre tour."
Star felt 'invisible' in relationship
Flanagan gave viewers more of an insight into her relationship with Sinclair on Celebs Go Dating, where she told the experts: "We weren’t right for each other."
"We weren’t compatible anymore," she went on. "I remember I always used to feel quite invisible with Scott. I feel like I was always fighting, like to get his attention.
"The arguments that we'd have were just so... it was really sad."
Helen Flanagan said she and ex 'don't like each other'
Flanagan and Sinclair are still in each other's lives as they are raising their three children together. But the actor did recently say that the pair just "don't get on" these days.
She opened up on Charlotte Dawson's Naughty Corner podcast, saying: "I still love him very much, I care about him deeply, but we don’t like each other. We don’t like each other at all, we don’t get on, we don't get on."
The star said she knew that Sinclair "cares about me deeply too". "But we just don't get on," she said.
Couple disagreed over homeschooling
Flanagan recently gave fans an insight into her relationship with Sinclair when she revealed they had different opinions on whether to homeschool their children.
The TV star posted holiday snaps on Instagram of her and her brood as she shared: "Gutted the kids go back to school next week, which I know might be unpopular but I really love the summer holidays and the kids being off... I don’t really like the routine of being back at school and I like being spontaneous and having the freedom with the kids.
"I actually did look at home schooling last year when I was going to do a six months theatre tour and wanted them with me but their daddy really didn’t want them to home school even though it would only be for a short period of time x."
New romance
There have recently been rumours about Flanagan dating again, with The Sun reporting that she has grown close to a former footballer called Robbie Talbot.
Flanagan apparently met Talbot outside of the Celebs Go Dating process, but the publication quoted a show spokesperson as saying that her new man would end up featuring in the series.
“During the filming of Celebs Go Dating, the executive producers discovered that Helen Flanagan was in a relationship outside of the CGD process," they said. "Once this came to light, Helen was asked to be transparent with the agents and her fellow celebrities during her next filming day. As per the show’s guidelines, all participating celebrities must be single.
"After discussing the situation, it was decided that Helen and her partner, Robbie, would meet with the agents to assess their compatibility, and Helen would no longer date members of the public. These developments will be featured on the show starting from episode 10.”
Yahoo has contacted E4 for comment.
