Coleen Nolan on her new agony aunt book Live. Laugh. Love: Lessons I've Learned

Virgin Radio

2 Nov 2021, 16:35

The singer, television personality and author joined the Graham Norton Radio Show with Waitrose to talk about her literary offering, dishing out advice and the new man in her life.

She shared: "I've never given advice on something I haven't experienced. I’m an agony aunt and a lot of the letters I get I can relate to and I don't have time to tell them how I relate to them when I'm answering their problems, but I thought it'd be good to put it all down in the book. I wanted it to be as if they were sitting having a cup of tea with me and with this one I'm really pleased that I think it does."

What are the main topics of the book? She said: “Things like divorce, pregnancy, childbirth, bringing kids up, grief - obviously with my sister Bernie and everything, I know what that's about. Everything really; marriage, relationships, I don't think there's anything I haven't covered."

On living her life in the public, she explained: “I always have a problem with 'celebrity' because we love being in the public eye when it suits us and it's great and it's lovely, but it is hard to be in the public eye when things are going wrong, especially if a relationship is splitting up. I feel that if you're going to give them all the good stuff and they're living their life with you, or you're living your life through them, then you have to give them the bad stuff as well. 

“Of course it’s hard, especially with Loose Women. It’s a topical-based show and I have been through 20 years with that audience, two marriages, kids, the lot. I would love to self edit, I would honestly love to just shut up but I honestly can’t. If anyone asks me a question I have to answer it.

"Honestly, the amount of times I’ve been on Loose Women and gone home and nobody's talking to me, it’s astounding," she laughed.

On dating a new man, she said: “What's lovely is that since my second marriage broke up, me and Ray are best of friends now and we're in a happier place. I've got a lovely new house, I've been single for about three or four years and now I'm back dating again, which I never thought in my wildest dreams would ever happen.

“I’ve been on some lovely dates along the way and I've been seeing someone for nearly four months now. I’m trying to keep as much of it as possible private. I would like to enjoy something private for a while. I don't mind saying I've met someone but I'm just not ready to reveal anything. He’s a normal guy and coming into our world is crazy."

Her best bit of life advice? She shared: “We’re so busy making sure everyone else is happy that people very rarely look at themselves or look at maybe why they're not happy. You're making that person happy, but that person isn't making you happy so where's the fairness in that?

“We all compromise… but if that's not reciprocated down the line then that's when it becomes a problem and that's kind of what was happening with me.”

Live. Laugh. Love: Lessons I've Learned is out now.

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