Coleen Nolan left viewers unexpectedly emotional this week after revealing the one moment that turned her entire Christmas upside down — a moment she admits made her feel “truly alone for the first time ever.”
The 60-year-old Loose Women star returned to the ITV panel on Thursday, but instead of her usual humour and warmth, Coleen brought something far more vulnerable to the table:
a confession about how much her life has changed as her children begin building families of their own.
“I put the decorations up… and suddenly realised no one was there.”
While the panel chatted about holiday preparations, Coleen quietly admitted she had already decorated her home — but the simple task had hit her harder than expected.
“It was the loneliest I’ve ever felt,” she said, her voice soft.
“I’ve never put the Christmas tree up on my own before.”
Coleen explained that her children were busy living out their new chapters as parents. She didn’t want to interrupt them — even though she knew they’d come running if she asked.
Instead, she let them have their moment… while she faced hers.
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Coleen Noland shared a heartbreaking Christmas confession as she reflected on a number of big changes in her family on Thursday’s episode of Loose Women
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With Christmas just around the corner, the Loose ladies discussed how prepared they feel about the looming festivities, and Coleen said: ‘It was the loneliest I’ve felt’
A tree full of tangled lights — and tangled feelings
Coleen joked that the tree looked like it had been “attacked by tinsel,” adding that her daughter Ciara usually saves the decorations from disaster with her artistic touch.
But this time, Coleen felt every clumsy ornament placement.
“I suddenly thought… this is what happens when everyone grows up.”
It wasn’t sadness for them — it was the sting of a new reality for herself.
“It won’t always feel like this” — her co-stars reassure her
Charlene White gently reminded Coleen that Christmas evolves as families grow.
One day, her grandchildren will be taking over the living room, grabbing baubles, climbing ladders, and turning her tree into chaos — the happy, loud kind.
And Coleen knows this. She even smiled through it.
But it didn’t soften the ache of this year’s first.
A woman starting again — in life, love, and motherhood
Coleen is now a grandmother of three.
She is single again.
Her children are carving out their own homes, routines, traditions.
And in many ways, Coleen is learning what it means to rebuild her sense of family in a new phase of life — a phase many women watching her deeply relate to.
The moment that shocked the panel earlier this week
Just days ago, Coleen made headlines again for a completely different reason — candidly opening up about the unconventional way she once “spiced up her love life.”
Her unfiltered comments left Ruth Langsford and Janet Street Porter practically speechless.
It was classic Coleen: honest, self-deprecating, and totally unafraid to share the messy parts of being a woman in her 50s and 60s.
But today was different.
Today was tender.
A quiet reminder that even the strongest women get lonely
In a season that celebrates togetherness, Coleen’s words resonated with thousands who know exactly what it’s like to see their children build new lives while learning how to navigate their own.
Her story isn’t about sadness — it’s about transition, growth, and the strange beauty of letting go.
And as Christmas approaches, viewers praised her for saying the thing many are afraid to admit:
“Sometimes joy and loneliness live in the same room.”
