Coleen Nolan, 61, has shared that she almost did not pursue a relationship with her boyfriend, 46-year-old fashion lecturer Ryan Brockbank, because of her own insecurities regarding their age difference.
Nolan revealed on an episode of Loose Women that Brockbank, whom she has been dating for a few months, initially slid into her direct messages on Instagram. Although Brockbank pursued her and made her laugh, Nolan admitted her immediate reaction upon learning his age was negative. "Oh god no. Way too young. Straight away, I said you're too young," Nolan recounted.
This hesitation mirrored her experience on the dating show Celebs Go Dating earlier this year, where she avoided dating anyone younger than 55 due to her own fears. "My own insecurity, really, I thought they wouldn't fancy me anyway because I'm 61 and I'd wonder why they did," she explained. She also cited not wanting anyone with younger children or someone who lived far away, both of which described Brockbank.
Nolan stated that as she got to know Brockbank better, his insistence that the age gap did not matter to him helped overcome her reservations. "You might be that in years, but it's like going out with a kid because you're like an 18-year-old!" he reportedly told her.
The couple's relationship began when Brockbank messaged Nolan in May, asking her out for a drink. Despite Nolan's initial brief response of a red heart emoji, Brockbank continued the conversation, inquiring if she was watching Eurovision. Their exchange escalated into a flirtatious conversation, which Nolan later shared a screenshot of on Instagram, captioned "How it started…" followed by "How it's going" with a selfie of the couple.
Nolan has expressed readiness for marriage for a third time, a sentiment that surprised her 25-year-old daughter, Ciara. "I always said I wouldn't get married again but I hadn't met Ryan," Nolan admitted, adding that he is "what I have been looking for, for probably 50 years." Her daughter jokingly expressed a desire for them not to gatecrash her own upcoming wedding.
Nolan was previously married to actor Shane Richie from 1990 to 1999, with whom she has two sons, Shane and Jake. She later married Ray Fensome from 2007 to 2018, and they have a daughter, Ciara. Recently, Nolan revealed she and Brockbank got matching tattoos, an action her daughter described as her mother having "lost the plot." Nolan has two tattoos with Brockbank: an 'R' and a heart on her forearm, along with the phrase 'Until the end.'
Nolan is believed to have met Brockbank after her appearance on Celebs Go Dating, which she described as a "disaster" where her ego was "on the floor." She noted that dating men from Essex, despite living in Staffordshire, had been a challenge due to the distance, and she had struggled to find a romantic spark. She also credited the show's agents and therapy for helping her change significantly.