TV star Coleen Nolan opens up on family matters, finding love and making her greatest wish come true
WORDS: MITYA UNDERWOOD PHOTOS: DAN KENNEDY, LORNA ROACH, REX/SHUTTERSTOCK,
ON SONG
Coleen Nolan has never shied away from talking about the tricky times in her life and has been an open book when it comes to her two divorces, three kids and growing up as one sixth of The Nolans. So when OK! meets her for an exclusive chat, Coleen, 58, is as emotionally frank as ever and tells us she’s all about “embracing” life. She may be smiling, but we sense there’s something weighing on her mind.
It transpires that at the same time as preparing to move into a new house with boyfriend Michael Jones, who she met on Tinder in 2021, she’s also trying to support her eldest son Shane, 35, through his split with his Miss Great Britain wife Maddie Wahdan. The couple married in July 2022 but hit the headlines late last year with Shane accused of cheating.
Coleen, of course, has first-hand experience of infidelity, with her own marriage to Shane’s actor father Shane Richie ending in similar circumstances. It’s been a lot to deal with, but she is, as ever, pragmatic and honest about how she feels about a painful situation.
“I love them both and I always will. It’s always extremely sad when something doesn’t work out – it’s always sad for both parties,” she tells us. “Obviously Shane’s my son – I adore him. And I still adore Maddie.
“I can sit and talk to Maddie for hours, I’ve been there and done it. But she’s doing great. I mean, she’s Miss GB, she’s beautiful and she’s a great person, and she’s got nothing to worry about. She’ll fly.”
On the subject of her own new beginning, the imminent house move may be stressful, but it signals a fresh start with Michael. And she tells us the couple definitely want to continue living together after a successful “tester situation” in their current home.
But when it comes to a possible third marriage, what does Coleen – who got divorced from her second husband, Ray Fensome, in 2018 – see in her future?
“I might get engaged, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m going to walk down the aisle,” she tells us. “I know Michael would like to marry me and to be fair to him, it’s probably from insecurity because I’ve finished with him three times since I met him.
“It was all my issues, because of what I’d gone through, s
