Just last month, Helen Flanagan revealed she’d finally set a wedding date with fiancé Scott Sinclair – joking she felt laid-back about it as it already “felt like a marriage” after 13 years and three children together.
But fans have been left stunned by shock news that the couple have called time on their relationship.
Former Corrie star Helen was pictured at the Pride of Britain Awards last week without her diamond engagement ring. A source told Closer Helen looked “carefree and defiant” at the star-studded bash, which she attended with best pal and on-screen sister, Brooke Vincent, 30.
Sources close to the star revealed how Helen had ended things with Scott weeks earlier following a solo work trip
to South Africa to film I’m A Celebrity All Stars.
The insider reportedly said, “Helen has removed her engagement ring and told those close to her that she is no longer with Scott. They hit a rough patch in the summer after Helen came back from South Africa, and it ended for good.”
Days before glamming up for the Pride of Britain Awards, Helen, 32, hinted she’d been struggling. “Stressful morning as per,” she shared as she flashed a peace sign to the camera. Fans also noticed Scott, 33, hadn’t featured on her social media since June, with her last post mentioning him being on Father’s Day, where she’d written, “Our babies love you so much.”
But since her girls’ night out with Brooke, Helen has continued to put on a defiant front, sharing Instagram Stories of her collaboration with fashion brand Lavish Alice and taking her kids to Spookfest at the Trafford Centre. And she appears to be looking onwards to new beginnings as she showed off a brand-new 2023 diary on her Instagram.
Helen and Scott’s relationship endured its fair share of drama since they met in 2009. In 2013, they briefly split after reality star Donatella Panayiotou, 34, leaked saucy texts she’d allegedly been sent by the Bristol Rovers footballer following a meeting in Cannes. Donatella urged Helen to leave Scott for good, claiming that he dodged the question when asked whether he was single.
Scott and Helen put it behind them and welcomed their first child in 2015 – daughter Matilda, but the two were left to navigate parenting around their tricky schedules.
In 2017, Helen revealed that she’d see Scott just on weekends, when she and Matilda travelled from Manchester to Glasgow, where Scott was then based. She said, “It’s not easy [but] I’m supportive of his career and he’s supportive of mine.”
Helen then moved to Glasgow and the pair got engaged in Paris 2018 and welcomed second daughter Delilah the same year.
Talking to Closer in 2020, Helen opened up about how Scott was helping her through her third pregnancy after being hospitalised with severe morning sickness. She said, “Scott has been brilliant.”
But earlier this year, she raised eyebrows when she revealed she and Scott had not slept in the same bed since Matilda was born, saying, “After seven years it would be nice as a couple to actually share a bed and not feel like flatmates!”
Their shock split followed drama around their wedding plans, which were delayed by Covid. The couple – who welcomed third child, Charlie, last year – were set to marry in 2024 and Helen only recently revealed they’d found their dream wedding venue. She said, “I have set a date. I’m so picky. I finally found my wedding venue. I don’t want to give it away, but basically everybody wants this venue. I’m looking at 2024.
“I think what it is as well, is me and Scott have been together for so long. We’ve been together for 13 years now. I’ve been with Scott since I was 19, I’m 32 now, so I think we are probably a little bit laid-back because it does feel like a marriage anyway.”
Emma Kenny: ‘It will be difficult when one of them moves on’
Closer’s psychologist Emma Kenny advises Helen to surround herself with family and friends and focus on her children. She explains, “Thirteen years together is a long time. They’ve been committed partners, they’ve got three kids. Helen needs a lot of family and friends around her for support as it will be agony going it alone – especially at first. Both she and Scott need to make sure the children remain the centre of their world and are loved beyond measure so that the relationship breakdown will have the least impact upon them.
“What will be difficult is when one of them moves on because it’s very clear the world around you is looking in. You don’t get to take time or decide when, so that’s an extra burden and pressure.”
Emma adds that, while Helen will be feeling sad that her family dynamic has been turned upside down, she also may be feeling hopeful about the future. She says, “She’s financially in a good place and she’s at a point where she still has a huge amount of life to live, so there are lots of great opportunities ahead for her and I’d imagine she’s going to embrace those.
“If they can navigate and negotiate the challenges fairly and in a respectful manner, then their relationship breakdown will probably be very manageable and, as long as they co-parent effectively, negotiating with one another as parents, then things will likely work out well.”