Things are still raw with Scott. We love each other. We just don’t like each other very much, admits Helen Flanagan

WHEN Helen Flanagan looks back at the last year or so, she can’t quite believe how far she’s come.

Single and back on the dating scene, she’s rediscovered some long-lost confidence, is juggling a busy work schedule with being a mum to three young children, and is about to relaunch her acting career.

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Oh, and there’s a pair of new boobs, which have also given her a boost – in more ways than one.

“This year has been quite a big one,” she says. “I’ve been through a lot of changes and I’ve made some mistakes, but I’ve definitely grown as a person. Most of my 20s were taken up with being pregnant or breastfeeding, so now I’m enjoying coming back to Helen.”

Arguably, it was the split from footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair that kick-started her new beginning.

Walking away from a 13-year relationship, where there were three children to consider, was not a decision Helen, 33, took lightly.

But speaking about the break-up and its aftermath today, she says that remaining part of an unhappy household would just have been damaging for everyone involved.

And it’s since they decided to separate in the summer of 2022 that she’s come into her own.

“It was a mutual decision and, personally, I felt as a mum that this was the best thing for my children. I want them to see healthy relationships and to be in healthy environments. I think if you’re unhappy then that projects on to them.

“Especially when you have daughters, you feel like you have to set an example. I always ask myself: ‘What would I want my daughters to do? What would I want for them?’ I’d want them to be happy. I wouldn’t want them to feel stuck.”

‘Splitting was the best thing. I want my kids to see healthy relationships’

Helen and Scott, 34, are both committed to co-parenting Matilda, eight, Delilah, five, and two-year-old Charlie. It’s not always practical, though, as he currently plays for Bristol Rovers, so lives nearly 200 miles away from Helen and the kids just north of Manchester.

He sees the children regularly, but relations between Scott and Helen themselves are still healing, and for now, they communicate mainly through their parents.

“I love Scott and I know that he loves me, but I suppose we just don’t like each other very much at the moment. We don’t really speak and there’s no point in pretending that we’re the best of friends when we’re not.

“What we had was really special, and because of that, the emotion between us is just too raw. Luckily, I get on really well with his mum and he speaks to my parents, so I’m sure Scott and I will eventually have a better relationship. Obviously, it’s not ideal, but we both adore the children and we’d never want any arguing in front of them.

“He knows I’m always flexible about him seeing them. Whenever he wants to see them, I try to accommodate that.”

The reasons behind the split were multi-layered, and Helen stresses that it would be impossible to pinpoint a cause or say exactly when things went wrong – by the end, they had drifted apart and were leading increasingly separate lives.

She says some of the difficulties set in when she suffered severe postnatal depression after having their son Charlie in March 2021.

“We’d been good while I was pregnant, but I struggled with my mental health after Charlie, and that put a bit of a strain on our relationship. Scott is a good guy, but I felt he wasn’t very good with emotions.

“We got used to doing our own thing. I had my own work and friends, and so did he. We just weren’t really together that much. Maybe I wasn’t the easiest person to live with – neither was he! – but there were a lot of factors that led to the end of the relationship. It wasn’t just one thing.”

Charlie was only 16 months old when they split and too young to know any different, but Helen was extremely careful about how she told the girls what was happening.

As it turned out, Matilda showed extraordinary maturity when Helen broke the news.

“I think if you make a big deal out of things for kids, they pick up on that, so I tried to keep it very chilled. Shortly after me and Scott had agreed to separate, I picked Matilda up from Bath to drive back to Manchester and I just said: ‘You know that Mummy and Daddy are just friends now? We love you so much, and we’re happier not being boyfriend and girlfriend any more.’

“And she said: ‘Is that because you’re just not compatible?’ And I told her that she was right.

“She has been upset and I’ve always told her she’s got every right to feel how she feels, and that I’m always here for her and we’d work things through.”

‘I was so lonely. I would put the kids to bed and then just cry’

Although the children have become used to living between two houses, it took Helen herself a bit more time to adjust. And, heartbreakingly, she admits that she has felt lonely as a single mum.

“Earlier this year, I’d put the kids to bed and just start crying. I didn’t know what was wrong with me and then I realised it was loneliness. I’d always had a boyfriend from the age of 17, and even though I’m very strong and independent, I get lonely.

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“I struggle when the kids are away – I’m always so happy when they come back through the door. I think their chaos is my calm, because when I’m away from my kids I overthink things. I take strength from them and they keep everything in perspective.

“I stay really busy and I’ve always got different brand campaigns I’m working on, so I’m fortunate with that as a distraction. But it took me a long time to be comfortable in the house on my own. All I could see were toys everywhere and that would make me cry. I felt like every time they went to their dad’s, I’d have to run away to London, stay with friends and go out and get really drunk.

“Then I’d be even more exhausted when the kids came back. I realised it was ridiculous. I decided that it was OK to feel a bit sad when I was on my own, I just had to sit with those feelings and let them pass.”

Joining the VIP dating app Raya has been “fun” although Helen, who first shot to fame as ditzy Rosie Webster on Coronation Street in 2000, laughs at how much the dating scene has changed since she was last single. 

“I was a bit clueless and the dating  apps are weird, because you can’t see someone’s personality on there. You’re just going on a few pictures and a quick bio. Matilda thinks it’s hilarious. She tells all her friends: ‘My mummy’s got a boys app!’”

Not that she’s looking for anything serious. Helen says she’s happy to stay footloose and fancy-free and date older guys with no strings attached for now.

“I was seeing someone on and off for about six months, but it wasn’t right. It was probably a bit soon after Scott. I’m really attracted to manly men who are older and understand I’m a mum. I tend to go for 40 or older. But most of all, he needs to be a decent, good person.

“I don’t want to be in a relationship, but I am looking for something that feels nice and is special. Some romance that’s outside of my mum life and with someone who understands that’s what I’m looking for.

“After being in a long-term relationship, I’m trying to find myself and do things that I really love. Maybe I’ll find The One in my 30s and maybe I’ll go on to have just one more baby if it feels right. I’ve got enough on with my three, but perhaps I’ll have another. I would never rule it out.”

She’s adamant that she won’t introduce any new partner to the children for a long time. There are two sides to Helen’s life at the moment and she keeps them deliberately apart.

“My children are my number-one priority. I wouldn’t want to introduce them to just anyone, because they’re too precious. They love their dad so much and it just wouldn’t be right.

“Also, I like having my two worlds separate and that whoever I’m dating doesn’t see me on the school run in mum mode. I’m a romantic and I’m enjoying having something that’s just for me.”

‘My children are my priority. I wouldn’t introduce them to just anyone’

Something else “just for me” was the boob job Helen underwent earlier this year. She shared the results on social media and was open about the surgery and recovery.

“It was always something I planned to do,” she says. “When I was younger, I was quite busty, but I breastfed for years – one baby after the other – and by the end of that I didn’t feel confident. 

“It’s such a personal choice and I’m all for female empowerment and for women feeling beautiful, confident and sexy. After so many years of pregnancy, breastfeeding and watching Peppa Pig, this has really made me feel like myself again.”

Would she ever go any bigger? “No. I’m happy with what I’ve got now. I’ve got quite a small frame, so I only went for what I’d had before to get back to me.”

‘Just because we’re mums, it doesn’t mean we can’t be sexy’

News of the surgery and Helen’s pictures showing it off prompted a predictable deluge of comments from social media trolls. They pop up on her posts whenever she shares revealing photos, but Helen says it’s all water off a duck’s back to her.

“It never bothers me. I was in Coronation Street from such a young age and I got used to taking a bit of stick at school, especially when Rosie went through her goth phase. Then I was in the [I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!] jungle when I was 22 and got ripped apart in there, so I’m past the stage of it affecting me. Just because we’re mums, it doesn’t mean we can’t be sexy!”

That now-legendary stint in the jungle back in 2012 saw Helen voted by the public to do trial after trial, only to then hilariously wimp out of each one. This year, she redeemed herself – and then some – by returning undaunted to the all-star version of the show with a braver and more determined mindset.

“I was so bad first time round!” she says. “I was absolutely pathetic and so embarrassed. But 10 years on, I’ve had my kids and motherhood toughens you up!

“I missed the kids and will never go away for that long again, but to have the chance to go back and this time smash it and boss the trials felt great. I know I made them proud.”

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That experience has given her the courage to move forward with her career.

Although Helen enjoys creating content for social media, acting is her first love and that’s where she sees her future.

She’s quirky and fun and doesn’t take life too seriously, but she’s also ambitious, strong-willed and far smarter than her critics realise.

“I really want to get back to acting. I’ve been auditioning solidly for the last year and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve got down to the last two for the most amazing jobs. But that’s the thing with this industry, you have to take the knockbacks and know that things happen for a reason.”

Perseverance pays off and Helen has just landed a plum acting role that she’s thrilled about, although she can’t reveal any details just yet. “I’m so happy and I wish I could tell you more about it!” she beams.

“Being a mum, I put everything like that on the backburner for a while. And when I was with Scott, we travelled around with his job, which I was happy to do. 

I was in love with him, he was my world, my everything, and I just wanted to be wherever he was. I’ve got the best memories of those days, but I do feel like I’m coming back to me now and what I want to do. “I feel like I’ve found myself again.”