ITV’s Loose Women panellists Coleen Nolan and Jane Moore have delved into life after divorce, opening up about the realities of solitude, self-acceptance, and sex

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Coleen Nolan and Jane Moore talk having sex after their divorces(Image: YouTube)

On the latest episode of the Loose Women podcast, Coleen Nolan and Jane Moore didn’t hold back as they dived deep into the emotional and physical realities of life post-divorce – from rediscovering intimacy to tackling loneliness.

Reflecting on what it’s like to re-enter the world of sex after a long-term relationship, Coleen, 60, spoke honestly about her own experience following her split from Ray Fensome. Asking Jane, 62, if she’s thought about being intimate with someone new, Coleen teased: “If you have a relationship again… have you thought about, I wonder if I could get naked again?”

Taken aback but amused, Jane replied: “Well, you’re right in there with that question, aren’t you? I haven’t thought about it, but I am now, thanks for that.”

Coleen, known for her frankness, admitted she didn’t dwell too much on insecurities. “I wasn’t really concerned,” she said of her own return to dating. “If it happens, it happens. It will all happen naturally.”

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Coleen Nolan and Jane Moore talk having sex after their divorces(Image: YouTube)

She then recalled her sister Maureen’s reaction: “She went, ‘God I really admire you… there you are having sex again and you don’t care about your wobbly bits and blemishes.’ And I went, ‘Thanks Maureen, I didn’t really think about it at the time, but now you mention it!’”

Jane, meanwhile, shared that the idea of being with someone new after over two decades with ex-husband Garry Farrow feels unfamiliar. “The last time I had sex with somebody new was 22, 23 years ago,” she said. “I think maybe if it was someone my age or a bit older, it wouldn’t really bother me… we’ve all got bits and bobs that are a bit saggier and wrinklier.”

Touching on dating preferences, Coleen revealed she once limited her dating app filters to no more than a decade younger. She revealed: “I thought, I can’t go younger than that, because I will feel old.”

Aside from the humour and candidness around intimacy, the two also opened up about the emotional toll of separation. Coleen confessed she’s found comfort in solitude lately, but admitted that by the end of her marriage, the relationship felt hollow. “We were like lodgers,” she said. “He couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of parting ways.”

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Jane shared that the idea of being with someone new after over two decades (Image: YouTube)

In a refreshingly honest exchange, the Loose Women presenters also explored what it really means to be alone and why, for some, solitude is a choice rather than a burden. Jane didn’t shy away from the tough questions: “Do you ever feel lonely?,” she asked.

But for Coleen, solitude has become something of a sanctuary. “No, I don’t. I’m loving it at the moment,” she replied. With a life full of people – from a buzzing TV studio to a large family and a working farm – Coleen explained that time spent alone in her countryside cottage is not something she dreads, but rather something she treasures.

“So when I’m in my little cottage, and all of a sudden I’m there… it’s like, ah. I just love that peace,” she said. Still, she acknowledged a quiet truth many avoid: “I’m not lonely, but I am actually alone. Everyone is having their own life, and you start to think about how that’s going to be as you get older.”

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Coleen Nolan and Ray Fensome divorced in 2018, after being married for 10 years(Image: PA)

Coleen shared that unlike her sister Maureen, who “can’t be alone for an hour,” she’s always found comfort in her own company – possibly shaped by childhood experiences of independence. “I was too young to go off on tour with them in the early days,” she said, “so I did have that independence from a very early age.”

Jane added her own observations about how society often places pressure on single people to explain their status. “A lot of my friends who are single, they get fed up of people asking, ‘Do you want to find somebody? Are you lonely?’ And they’re like, ‘No, I enjoy solitude,’” she said.

Yet, she also noted that others stay in relationships out of fear of being alone: “I see some friends who are in relationships that maybe aren’t right for them because they don’t want to be on their own.”

Coleen then made it clear she wouldn’t fall into that trap. Recalling the final chapter of her marriage to Ray Fensome, she shared: “I asked him, ‘Why don’t you want us to split up?’ We were like lodgers in the same house.” His answer? “That’s what happens when you’ve been with someone for a long time.”

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Jane Moore announced her split from Gary Farrow in 2022(Image: Getty Images)

But Coleen wasn’t having it: “He couldn’t be bothered with the hassle of it. And I thought, I’m not settling because I’m in my mid-50s, and I think I should.” Instead, she found the idea of starting fresh thrilling: “I found it quite exciting to be on my own again and start again, be independent, but I definitely wouldn’t settle.”

As Jane looked toward her own future, she admitted there are moments of strangeness in her new normal – particularly in a house that now echoes with silence. “I’m excited for the future,” she said, “but… I haven’t got someone coming in and out of the house. It’s just me. One of the things I started noticing that I was doing… I was talking to myself. Which is what my mum used to do.”