Yahoo News Loose Women star Coleen Nolan's private life - from heartbreak to tragic death
A household name and recognisable face, Coleen Nolan has enjoyed life in the spotlight ever since she was a child.
Rising to fame alongside her sisters, Coleen made her first TV appearance at the age of nine on the TV show It's Cliff Richard! and has remained a staple on TV screens since. With her sisters, The Nolans were formed and had a successful pop career.
In the 90s, Coleen left the group to focus on her children and only a few years later in 2000, the Blackpool-born star joined the Loose Women panel. Even to this day, Coleen can be seen on the ITV discussion programme, as well as on other television appearances.
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The 59-year-old has been a presenter on This Morning, a contestant on Dancing on Ice, and a runner-up on I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! and won Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, the Mirror reports. Here's a look at Coleen's life, from relationships to family heartbreak.
Relationships
Coleen met Shane Ritchie in the late 1980s and it wasn't long before they got engaged and welcomed their first child together. Originally planning a huge wedding, the pair eventually eloped to Florida in the 1990s.
As well as son Shane Jr, they also had a second son together called Jake, but their relationship came to an end in 1997. They both admitted to having affairs in their relationship, with Coleen explaining she kissed a keyboard player while on tour with her sisters in her autobiography.
She also admitted she felt unattractive and non-existent after having her second son, she enjoyed the attention. She wrote: "As I kissed my musician, it was like a sexual awakening. Adrenalin was pumping through my body. I knew what I was doing was terribly wrong, but I was literally shaking with exhilaration. 'I am still attractive,' I thought to myself."
Since then, Coleen has been overwhelmed with guilt and has described the incident as "one of the most horrendous times" of her life.
Although both admitting to infidelities, the pair remained amicable for their two children. After her divorce, she met musician Ray Fensome, who became her second husband and father to her only daughter, Ciara. In 2005, the duo got engaged before tying the knot two years later in 2007.
Two years after their wedding, the pair called it quits and in a similar vein, both Ray and Coleen have kept things amicable ever since. Recently, Coleen showcased her partner, Michael Jones, on Loose Women after meeting him on the dating app Tinder. However, the pair's relationship has been anything but smooth sailing, as it's reported they've called it quits three times.
Speaking to the Mirror, she said: “It was all my issues because of what I’d gone through, so I was pushing him away, thinking I couldn’t deal with it. I’m very open to everything he’s providing me emotionally, and it’s fantastic"
However, it seems like things are back on track as she shared a sweet snap alongside Michael and her family while watching one of her son's shows in Edinburgh.
Family heartbreak and cancer scare
Coleen lost her sister Bernie in 2013 after she died at the age of 52, following a three-year battle with breast cancer. Three years before she died, Bernie underwent treatment.
Having a mastectomy and undergoing chemotherapy, Bernie was given the all-clear in 2012. Sadly, it wasn't long before the disease returned and spread aggressively to her brain, bones, lungs, and liver.
Coleen has openly spoken about Bernie's death on Loose Women over the years. More recently, the ITV star detailed how everyone in her family handles grief differently.
She said: "For me. It's not, 'Oh, I like to have this thing that's going to help me remember them'. Because I never, ever, from the day she died or my parents died, ever forgot. I'll never forget."
Another one of Coleen's sisters, Linda is also battling breast cancer after being initially diagnosed in 2005. The disease then resurfaced in 2017 and spread to her brain, bones, and liver.
During an episode of Loose Women, she told viewers her sister doesn't want to know how long she has left and wants to enjoy the rest of her life. She said: "At the moment, she's still having treatment, and that's what's keeping her going, you know, 'as long as they're still going to treat me, then I'm going to keep on going'."
Coleen herself had her own health scare in 2023 when she was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer.
Speaking on the Learning As I Go: Learning To Feel The Fear podcast, she confessed: ‘I got skin cancer last year. I had carcinoma on my shoulder, which has now gone. And I had chemo cream on my shoulder, so that burned that off.’
Since then, the ITV star confessed she won't go out without wearing SPF 50.
