At 61 Coleen Nolan has embarked on a new, daunting challenge – dating on screen.
This year, the twice-married star got to know herself better and showed her vulnerability as she unpacked her relationship history on Celebs Go Dating.
Describing the show as a “learning curve”, Coleen opened up on feeling sexier than ever at 61, how dating again unlocked new confidence within her, and why she hopes Loose Women friend Ruth Langsford will follow her in appearing on the show.
While dating can be daunting in itself, dating on screen could be a step too far for some, but Coleen shares, “I’ve loved it. It is a therapy session, basically, with the agents. I’ve never been scared to be open.
“I just think, ‘How can someone help you if you’re not going to be open to them and let them in?’ [I talked about] my marriages, things in the past, really personal, private things.”
When asked what the show and experience has taught her, she replies “Confidence, definitely on the dating front. I don’t think I’ll ever be as nervous again”.
‘I feel like I might find somebody now’
“They’ve taught me to be transparent, which I wasn’t. I was always not wanting to hurt someone’s feelings. It’s unlocked that being transparent doesn’t mean you’re being mean. I’m too long in the tooth to waste time by pussyfooting around.
“If we get on and there’s a connection, great. And if we don’t, that’s fine. It doesn’t mean either of us is bad. It just means we’re not connected, and that’s OK.
“I put up with so much s**t for so long. Once I actually wake up, and it happened certainly with marriages, where I woke up and thought, ‘I’m done,’ I was never going back and I’d never let them do it again.
“But then, I’d walk into another relationship and do the same thing. It’s a vicious circle, really. So I’m getting very aware of that now, thanks to the experts. I feel like I might find somebody now and I’m taking all I’ve learned into my next relationship.”
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
This is perhaps why Coleen revealed she’d love to see her friend and co-star Ruth Langsford – who split from Eamonn Holmes, her partner of 27 years, in 2024 – to take part.
“I’d love to see her on the show! I’d just love her to meet someone gorgeous that she deserves. I think she’s a way off though. I couldn’t have done that straight after my divorce. No way.
“For four years after I got divorced, the last thing I wanted was anyone. I loved my freedom. And I think Ruth might feel like that.”
‘I’m hot! I’ve never thought that before’
Coleen’s newfound confidence is also down to her weight loss journey, having lost over three stone in 2026 which she has documented on her social media pages and in interviews.
“It definitely has given me more confidence. It’s opened my world of clothes massively. Before, I’d put things on and go, ‘That’ll do.’ Whereas now I go, ‘Oh, God, that looks nice,’ or ‘That looks hot.’ I’ve never thought that before.
“I’m hot! The experts have told me to keep saying that to myself. And I said to them, ‘I have been saying it for a while, but I meant in the menopause.’
“I feel much more confident and I think that’s down to feeling better physically and liking more what I see.”
I’m 61 and feeling sexy. I’m definitely not giving up on romance or sex!
From dating to feeling hot, Coleen’s new chapter couldn’t come at a better time. She shared, “In my mid-50s, I took a massive downward spiral. I hated my 50s.
“I think a lot of it was hormonal, I went through terrible empty nest syndrome and terrible depression. [It was like] nature basically said to me, ‘You’re done. You can die now because you’re surplus to requirements.’ I also got out of a couple of long but stressful relationships, which didn’t help.”
But life in her 60s has never been better. “Then I got to 60 and I got my dream, which was to buy a little smallholding for all my animals. And I thought, ‘Oh, my God. It feels like my life is just beginning.’
“I think the hormone thing calmed down a bit and I just got this life is too short to sit there and waste away and go ‘I’m just waiting to die now,’ attitude.
“I’m not. I’m going to live it right until my last breath. I’m 61 and feeling sexy. I’m definitely not giving up on romance or sex!”
This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.
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