Before finding happiness with Tinder match Michael Jones, Loose Women panelist Coleen Nolan had a rocky time with online dating – after two failed marriages and heartbreak left the star jaded
Coleen Nolan insists she ‘could not be happier’ as she revealed she is loved-up once again.
The Loose Women star has endured a very rough time of it in the dating game, having her heartbroken several times over.
Last year Coleen, 58, shared her fears that her insecurities were holding her back when her latest whirlwind romance came crashing down.
The mum-of-three had appeared happily matched with supermarket worker Michael Jones, who she met on Tinder.
Gushing about her new man, twice-married Coleen credited fellow divorcee Michael with reawakening her sex life.
“You can have sex anywhere in the house at any time of day,” confessed Coleen- admitting she’d gone five years without sex before hitting it off with Michael.
Coleen proudly showed off the new man in her life on an episode of Loose Women and declared a wedding was ‘inevitable.’
However, months later the relationship was over.
A source said at the time that a heartbroken Coleen was in ‘no rush’ to start dating again – but a year later the TV star has been able to move on.
We take a look back at Coleen’s rollercoaster love life from affairs, divorce and toyboy romance.
Shane Richie
Back in the 90s, Coleen and Shane Richie were one of the showbiz world’s golden couples.
The two stars first met in 1986 and planned to marry in a huge ceremony in 1990 but eloped to Florida at the last minute when their plans took another direction.
They pair went on to have two sons – Jake Roache, 28, and Shane Jr Nolan, 32, and had a blessing at a church when Coleen’s father fell ill a few years later.
Coleen was first married to Shane Richie, pictured in 1997 (
Image:
TV Times/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
The former couple on their wedding day back in 1990 (
Image:
Rex)
But their romance wasn’t to last and the pair split in 1997 – with both stars later admitting to extra-martial affairs.
In her 2009 autobiography, Coleen revealed she first became suspicious the former EastEnders actor was up to no good during a stint on stage in Manchester for a production of Grease.
“At the after-show party I can distinctly remember examining this one girl. There were loads of people there but she just stood out. She had really long dark hair and was wearing a skin-tight white dress,” recalled Coleen.
“Well, it must have been female intuition because that turned out to be the girl Shane had an affair with.”
In his own memoir, Rags to Richies, Shane held his hands up to cheating with the actress in question, Claire Taylor.
Coleen also admitted to playing away – having a brief fling with a keyboard player while on tour with the Nolan Sisters in 1993.
Recalling the act of infidelity in her autobiography, the mum-of-three explained how she felt “unattractive and non-existent” after the birth of her second child, and relished the interest from the musician during her stint in Weymouth with her band.
“As I kissed my musician, it was like a sexual awakening,” she wrote in one of her memoirs.
“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.”
The former couple, pictured here in 1995, have remained on good terms (
Image:
Getty)
Coleen was consumed with guilt and described the incident as “one of the most horrendous times of my life”.
Despite it seeming like a bitter split at the time, Shane and the Loose Women star have managed to maintain a healthy relationship as co-parents and support each other’s new relationships.
Their divorce was settled out of court and Shane credited Coleen with ensuring they kept things amicable.
“I wish I could take credit for it, but Coleen instigated most of that. The only people who lost out were the lawyers. They were gutted,” he said previously.
The pair are still clearly close, with smitten Coleen admitting her first ex-husband is “really happy” for her and Michael in her new interview.
Ray Fensome
Coleen’s ex Ray is hugely supportive of her new relationship (
Image:
PA)
After parting ways with Shane, Coleen went on to find love again with musician and future second husband Ray Fensome.
The pair welcomed daughter Ciara into the world on 19 June 2001 and Ray popped the question a few years later in 2005.
The pair become husband and wife in November 2007, but it wasn’t to last forever – with their split announced in February 2018 after two years of marital difficulties.
The former couple performing on Loose Women in 2011 (
Image:
REX)
Their divorce was finalised last that year and luckily, the two have been able to remain close friends – even spending time with each other’s new partners.
Coleen’s new beau Michael is even planning a lad’s day out with his girlfriend’s ex husband.
“We get on well,” he told OK! when discussing his relationship with Ray.
“We spent Christmas Day together. I think we’re going to a rugby match together next month!”
Toyboy Tinder lover
Coleen is no stranger to a Tinder match.
The former singer enjoyed a six-month romance with an unnamed lover eight years her junior shortly before swiping right on her current boyfriend.
Despite it “all going really well” at one point, things came to an end when her mystery man, 47, couldn’t “handle” her fame.
Coleen often keeps Loose Women viewers updated on her dating antics (
Image:
ITV)
“We met a couple of times before the lockdown but then spoke constantly for six months, and it was all lovely and then just as the restrictions eased, he couldn’t handle who I was,” the star explained to the MailOnline last year.
“I think to be fair to him, there’s no animosity and I wasn’t heartbroken, we weren’t in a full relationship, it was literally a vocal relationship, that’s all it could be because of lockdown.”
Although Coleen has had a fairly good experience with online dating, the star did have a few potential suitors suspect she was a catfish thanks to being a household name.
Coleen seems to be blissfully happy when discussing her new love
Speaking on Loose Women earlier this year, she said: “A lot of them thought I was catfishing them and it wasn’t me. They said, why would you be on here and I thought why wouldn’t I be? Where else am I going to go?”
“But here’s my issue – how do I know it’s the real them?”
She then revealed some of the terrible puns and cheesy open liners she would receive from admirers on the apps.
“Some of them would say hi, I bet you’re in the mood for dancing,” she divulged on the ITV show.
“Are you really a loose woman?” was another popular attempt at wooing a then-single Coleen.
Luckily for Coleen, her days on Tinder with cringe comments are now a thing of the past – after finding happiness with Michael last summer.
“This definitely feels like the first time I’ve ever gone into a relationship as an emotionally mature woman,” she gushed to OK! on Monday.
“It’s so comfortable and lovely and peaceful… there aren’t enough adjectives really.”
Michael Jones
Coleen and Michael looked smitten as she introduced him on Loose Women (
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Coleen appeared to be living her best life with Tinder boyfriend Michael Jones.
After spending recent months gushing about the 57-year-old she met on the dating app last summer, the Loose Women presenter finally unveiled her mystery man to fans on Monday.
With a joint interview – complete with stunning snaps of the couple – the twice-married star credited fellow divorcee Michael with reawakening her sex life.
“You can have sex anywhere in the house at any time of day,” Coleen confessed – admitting she’d gone five years without sex before hitting it off with Michael.
“I’m enjoying it more than ever. It’s like being on a diet for five years and getting my first piece of chocolate.”
Speaking with OK! magazine, the happy couple also hinted at the the possibility of a wedding in the near future – with Coleen declaring it “inevitable” she’ll tie the knot for the third time.
However les than a year later and the romance was over and Coleen was seen attending her son Shane Jr’s wedding alone as she posted photos from the special day.
A source told The Sun: “Coleen and Michael were together for just over a year and while they were happy at first, the spark fizzled out in the end. They quietly broke up in April but have stayed close. She is looking forward to the future and possibly meeting someone new but there is no rush.”
A new start
Coleen Nolan is ‘happier than ever’ (
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Appearing on Loose Wome this week, a giddy Coleen revealed she was in a new relationship.
“Gradually over time with the person I’m with now, it has taken a longer time and it’s my fault because I keep thinking I’m not used to this,” she told the panel.
“I’m not used to somebody loving me the way you do because I’ve never believed I have. Because I’ve never been with anyone that has made me feel that 100%.”
Coleen added that she has been with people who don’t pay her compliments or hold her hand but now she has that and it freaked her out at first.
Coleen said: “Now over the last couple of years I’ve said you know what just accept it for once in your life and enjoy it.
“It’s what you have been looking for and now that I have truly opened myself up to it I have never been happier.”
