Coleen Nolan and son Richie
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Coleen Nolan’s heartbreak as she reveals ‘breaking point’ after son Shane’s secret drug battle

'He's going to die'

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Coleen Nolan has candidly opened up about her son Shane’s secret battle with drug addiction.

The TV star shares the 36-year-old singer with ex-husband Shane Richie. In 2023, Shane hit headlines amid claims he had cheated on his wife, Maddie Wahdan.

Shane and Maddie tied the knot in July 2022. However, in December 2023 it was reported that they had split.

And now, both Shane and Coleen have spoken out for the first time about his drug addiction, with Coleen revealing that Shane ‘messed up’ his marriage during his struggles.

Coleen Nolan on Loose Women
The TV star spoke about her son’s struggles (Credit: ITV)

Coleen Nolan on son’s drug addiction

In a recent video for Coleen’s YouTube channel, Coleen and Shane spoke about the latter’s drug addiction.

“It might be a great high for however long but you were broke, you got into a lot of debt, as everyone does with addiction,” Coleen said.

She added: “Relationships, you [bleep] your marriage basically.”

After his split from Maddie, Shane found love with his current girlfriend Kimberly Sallis. Earlier this month, they announced that they are expecting their first child together.

In the YouTube video, praising Kimberly for her support amid his addiction battle, Shane said in the video: “I think I’ve had to grow up. I’ve got a girlfriend who has helped me through it massively, we’re starting a family now.”

Coleen's son Shane
He candidly opened up (Credit: ITV)

Shane ‘would have a three-day bender’

Shane also shared that a busy work schedule contributed to his addiction. He said: “The constant moving, the travelling all of the time, having to be on stage until 11 o’clock at night, so the only way to pick yourself up is to [do drugs].

“I’d have a three-day bender but I wasn’t [doing drugs] Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It probably would have got to that. I was splitting up, I was going through a tough time work-wise, I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

As for Coleen, she then recalled there was a “breaking point” before Shane was admitted to a rehab centre.

‘He’s going to die’

“I remember when the time came that you passed out and split your head open early in the morning. He split his head open and got eight staples, or whatever it is, in his head,” she told her son in the YouTube video.

The Loose Women star added: “That was my breaking point, if this doesn’t wake him up, he will… I kept saying: ‘He’s going to die.'”

Coleen continued: “From a mother’s point of view, I just felt I’d done something wrong. I really blamed me for all of it. People kept saying: ‘You have to talk to him, you have to do this,’ and I couldn’t. I thought, I’m really failing on all levels.

“So, when you split your head open, I thought the next call could be ‘He’s overdosed’. I just remember thinking, I’ve just failed him and I can’t take this pain away from him. If I could’ve taken it for myself I would’ve.”

Coleen then pointed out that with Shane now sober and a new baby on the way, they can finally relax.

“The difference for me now, is you’re just nicer to be around,” she told Shane before adding: “I didn’t dread you coming around, but I kind of did. I don’t know, it was horrible.”

Read more: Coleen Nolan’s brother Brian reveals his ‘cancer is gone’ following surgery

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Joey Crutchley
Freelance Writer

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