Coleen Nolan spent ‘years crying’ and felt like ‘terrible mother’ over hidden family struggle
Coleen Nolan opened up on Friday’s Good Morning Britain about a hidden family struggle
Olivia Wheeler Content Editor Screen Time
08:38, 12 Dec 2025
Coleen Nolan opened up on Friday’s Good Morning Britain about a hidden family struggle (Image: ITV)
Coleen Nolan admitted she spent ‘years crying’ and feeling like a ‘terrible mother’ over a hidden family struggle.
Over the summer, Coleen, 60, revealed that her son, Shane, 37, suffered a secret battle with drugs which saw him ‘hit rock bottom’ and ruin his marriage to his beauty queen ex-wife, Maddie Wahdan.
Coleen’s son, Shane, who she shares with ex-husband Shane Richie, split from his beauty queen wife in December 2023 amid reports he had been unfaithful – just a year after they had tied the knot.
Over the summer, Shane, alongside his mother Coleen, opened up about his battle with drug addiction, which saw him be admitted to rehab as his family feared for his life.
Shane is in a new relationship with girlfriend Kimberly Sallis, who he has credited for helping him through the drug addiction, and in November they welcomed their first child together a baby boy called Cruz-Carter.
Coleen Nolan admitted she spent ‘years crying’ and feeling like a ‘terrible mother’ over the hidden family struggle(Image: ITV)
Talking about her son’s past battle on Friday’s Good Morning Britain, Coleen admitted: “I felt like a terrible mother. I thought it was my fault.”
Coleen said of her son speaking out: “It was totally Shane’s decision. It would never have been me forcing him in to talk about it. He thought it was important to talk about and especially when it was during Men’s Mental Health month and all of that.
“When he did it, we were both nervous. I was quite emotional because it’s really hard as a parent or a relative to watch an addict. I mean, it was years of me crying because I couldn’t do anything. I’m his mum and I couldn’t do anything.”
Coleen continued: “People were like, ‘Well, you know, you’re going to have to kick him out. You’re going to have to do that.’ and I went ‘He’s my child!’
Over the summer, Coleen, 60, revealed that her son, Shane, 37, suffered a secret battle with drugs(Image: ITV)
“I kept making excuses for him, ‘well, I think he did this… no, no, it’s just because he’s tired, you know.’ And then something major happened where he ended up with stitches in his head and all of that. I think that was a massive wake up call.
“Talking about it afterwards, he said to me, ‘Mum, I feel like a whole weight has been lifted off my shoulders.'” Coleen admitted it was also good for Shane to hear how his battle made her feel.
The Loose Women star emotionally recalled: “I felt like a terrible mother. I thought it was my fault. I’d done things wrong. I couldn’t help him and it was nothing to do with me. As an addict, the only person that could have helped him was himself, which he did.”
Good Morning Britain continues on weekdays at 6am on ITV and ITV X.
