Television personality Coleen Nolan has made a candid admission about the breakdown of her first marriage to EastEnders actor Shane Richie, confessing she remained in the relationship "two years longer than I should have."
The reason behind staying in a failing marriage
The 60-year-old Loose Women panellist revealed her primary motivation was a fear of her children coming from what she termed a "broken home." Nolan discussed the split with the couple's eldest son, Shane, now 37, on her YouTube channel. She explained she felt a powerful obligation to stay and try to work things out for the sake of their two boys, Shane and his younger brother, singer Jake Roche, 33.
"I had this real thing, I had this thing about 'my kids are going to be from a broken home'," she said. "I'm Coleen Nolan and I'm divorced and I hated it. And it was mainly about you two and 'I've got to stay, I've got to stay and work it out'."
The therapy session that changed everything
Nolan, who was married to Richie from 1990 until their separation in 1997 and divorce in 1999, said she eventually sought professional help. It was a therapist's stark perspective that prompted her decisive action. "She said to me: 'But you're going to bring two boys up to believe it's OK to behave like that and their wife or girlfriend should put up with it'," Nolan recalled.
This advice proved to be a turning point. "As soon as I said that I went to the solicitors because I thought: 'Oh I don't want that either. I want them to know that if you treat people this way you're going to lose them.'" The marriage had reportedly ended following allegations of infidelity.
Life after divorce and co-parenting success
Despite the difficulty of the decision, Nolan believes it was the right one for her family. She emphasised that both of her sons from that marriage have maintained good relationships with both parents, something she says required considerable effort.
"It's worked out great and it takes a lot of effort for it to work out great," she stated. "I think it's something you've got to put effort into when you've got children." Her son Shane agreed during the conversation, noting she could have easily used the children "as a weapon" during the split, a tactic she consciously avoided after seeing its effects on friends.
Coleen Nolan's relationship history includes a second marriage to musician Ray Fensome in 2007, which ended in divorce in 2018. The couple share a daughter, Ciara, born in 2001.
The candid discussion comes as Nolan prepares to launch her new one-woman show, "This Is Me," next month. The show will tour her life story, and she has addressed her trademark honesty, telling Woman’s Weekly: "I can sleep better knowing I've been honest."
