"We should have only ever been friends": Lancashire's Coleen Nolan talks her unusual best friend

In the latest episode of the Loose Woman podcast ‘Just Between Us’, Kaye Adams pushed Coleen to “reveal all”.

During the half hour chat, the women offered their advice on whether to tell a boy best friend you're in love with them, as well as asking if it really possible for men and women to just be friends and is there something wrong with Coleen if she actually prefers friendships with men to women?

Perhaps the most interesting part of the chat was when Blackpool born Coleen revealed she was best friends with one of her ex-husbands.

60-year-old Coleen married musician Ray Fensome back in 2007, six years after the birth of their daughter- Ciara- and many years after they first started dating.

The couple divorced in 2018 but that did not mark the end of their relationship - instead they just switched to being best friends!

Speaking on the podcast about Ray, Coleen said: “He’s one of my best friends. He stays with me when he’s gigging near me.”

When Kay asked “and you have no romantic feelings towards him at all?”, the mum of three replied: “No, no romantic feelings. We’ve been in my house on my own and both gone ‘night’ while he’s gone into the spare room, I’ve gone into my room, and when you think for 17 years we shared a room, there’s not even a moment of that. Not one moment.”

As Kay expressed her disbelief, Coleen continued: “Our only common denominator now as far as that is Ciara, obviously. But year, he’s like a best mate now and I know he feels the same.”

Kay said: “I’m not doubting it but I do find it strange, you know that you could have been together for so long as romantic partners, shared a child, and that has just gone. I mean, do you look back and think ‘how did I fancy him?”

Coleen responded: “I’ve looked back and said to him ‘I think we should have only ever been friends... But I think, we got, you know I got pregnant with Ciara and all of that, but I think, looking back, we were always good at being friends, but the rest of it we didn’t match.”

When Kay asked “Why what didn’t match”, Coleen exclaimed; “Well it’s not in therapy with me!”, prompting the pair to change the topic.

Before her marriage to Ray, Coleen was married to Eastender’s actor Shane Richie between 1990 and 1999.

Together they share two sons, Shane Nolan and Jake Roche, who themselves are both parents to their own children.

As well as Shane’s two children and Jake’s son, Ciara also gave birth to her first child in October.

Grandmother of four Coleen is currently single after splitting from her long-term partner Michael in late 2024.

The Blackpool star remains very open about her personal life on ITV’s Loose Women, as well as the new podcast which launched in March last year.