Fans were shocked when she broke up with her fiancé, footballer Scott Sinclair, last year, after 13 years together. But five months on, Helen Flanagan has bounced back – and she’s on the hunt for a new hunk.
Last week it was revealed that the actress, who shares three children – Delilah, seven, Matilda, four, and one-year-old Charlie – with Scott, has signed up to celebrity dating app Raya.
The members-only app has become a favourite with A-listers, and users are rumoured to have included Cara Delevingne, Ben Affleck and Elijah Wood.
And while Helen, 32, has uploaded a series of smoking-hot photos showing off her glam new look – including the results of her recent boob job, lip fillers and Botox – a source says that the prospect of dating after over a decade is still daunting for the mum of three.
An insider reveals, “Signing up to a dating app isn’t something Helen has done lightly. She’s taken a lot of time out lately to just be with the children, which has allowed her to reset and come to terms with her split from Scott. It’s not been easy. She still loves him and that love will always be there. They remain good friends and are determined things will stay that way for the sake of the kids.
“But at the same time, Helen’s also open to finding happiness again. She’s still young and is feeling more and more upbeat about the future. That’s why she feels like now might be the time to start dipping her toe back into the dating game.”
It was revealed that Helen and Scott, 33, had grown apart over the summer before their October split, with a source saying at the time, “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 and their relationship ended.”
Helen is thought to have had time for reflection during the period she filmed I’m A Celebrity... All Stars in South Africa and, when she returned, called off the couple’s 2024 wedding after her engagement ring was broken – an accident she saw as a “bad omen”.
The pair are now committed to co-parenting, and Helen has since vamped up her look with a series of post-break-up surgeries, which she’s since been showing off to fans on social media.
In January, she revealed she’d undergone a boob job after breastfeeding her three children had left her “really saggy”, and later unveiled a new platinum hair colour, admitting she had also had lip fillers and Botox.
Defending her choice, she told fans on social media, “Don’t do anything when you’re too young. I’m 32 now. I have Botox and that’s my choice. I support women whatever choices they make. I thought about this for a long time before going ahead with it.”
And our insider reveals how Helen’s glow-up played a huge role in boosting her confidence to date again. The source says, “One of the big turning points for Helen was having the boob job. It has made her feel super-confident and super-sexy, which hasn’t always been the case in the past. She’s also been on a bit of a gym kick since the start of the New Year, so has been looking after her body as well as her mind. But she feels in a really happy and positive place right now.”
Helen has also been embracing single life by enjoying several nights out with her girlfriends since the split – spending a weekend in Manchester for “Galentine’s Day” last month.
She also used the time to spread a message of self-love to fans. Recording a video of herself in a black underwear set, she told her followers, “The most important and loving relationship you can have is the one with yourself.”
The source adds, “Helen realises that there will be a lot of eyes on her in terms of the next person she starts dating after Scott, but she’s more interested in having some fun and no-strings attached dating right now.
“She jokes that she’s more likely to meet someone new by bumping into them in a supermarket! She’s just really looking forward to seeing what the future holds and embracing what it brings.”
Helen’s career is also set to undergo a huge boost when I’m A Celebrity_…_ airs later this year.
And while she’ll be juggling life as a single mum around her TV commitments, the source says Helen, who played Coronation Street’s Rosie Webster for 12 years until 2012, hasn’t ruled out reprising the role which made her famous.
She rejoined the soap in 2017 before going on maternity leave the following year, but our insider says Helen has been told by producers that they would welcome talks around her potential return.
The source adds, “Being in Corrie has been the highlight of Helen’s career so far, and she has nothing but fond memories of her years there. Acting is something she would definitely like to return to when the kids are a little bit older and she has more time to spare. For Helen it’s a case of never say never. She’d be mad to rule it out.”
