I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! star Shane Richie described Coleen Nolan as “chubby” when he first laid eyes on her – according to his friend Chris “Goz” Gosling, anyway.
Ex-EastEnders star Shane and Loose Women regular Coleen were married between 1990 and 1999 and they share two sons – Shane Jr and Jake.
However in his 2003 autobiography Rags to Richie: The Story So Far, the 56-year-old recalls the first time he saw Coleen back in 1986.
At the time, he was a gigging comedian and she was touring with her sisters as The Nolans, with a Kent tour-date being their first time coming across each other.
Shane Richie and Coleen Nolan were married for nine years between 1990 and 1999 (Image: Getty Images)
Shane was in a “proper boyfriend and girlfriend” relationship with dancer Dawn Rodgers at the time, who he had met the year before, with her joining his troupe as a backing dancer.
In his book, Shane wrote: “In January 1986 I had to leave Dawn again as I was booked to support The Nolans at a venue called The Orchard in Dartford, Kent.
“I know that was the month because Goz wrote in his diary: ‘Shane says he’s going to give one to the little chubby bird on the end.’
Shane met Coleen in 1968 when she was touring with her singing sisters (Image: dx)
“And that was Coleen. To this day I’ve insisted to Coleen I never said such a thing, but Goz swear it was true.”
Eventually, Shane moved to Bournemouth for work which is where he bumped into The Nolans again – though he was engaged to Dawn by then.
He recalls how he “didn’t dare” talk to Coleen after their brother Brian called him over to chat to the girls, as they were celebrating their opening night at the Bournemouth International Centre.
Shane and Coleen have two sons together – Shane Jr and Jake (Image: WireImage)
However he soon picked up the courage to speak with her after seeing her with her dad Tommy.
“Coleen and I ended up spending all night together talking at the bar,” he wrote.
“I hung on her every word and she had me in fits of giggles. No woman had ever made me laugh like that before.”
He went on: “I’d only known her for hours, I had a fiancée back in Jersey and Coleen came from a different world, but at that moment none of that mattered. I was besotted.”
Despite his friend being adamant that Shane had called Coleen “chubby” he later described her as “by far the prettiest” of her singing sisters.
Shane fell for Coleen while he was engaged to dancer Dawn and they shared their first kiss in Bournemouth.
He tried to convince himself that Coleen was just a “summer fling” however after they slept together for the first time he began to realise their romance was something more.
Eventually, he had to tell Coleen that he was already engaged and even though he planned to end things with Dawn, Coleen finished with him.
Of course, he managed to win her back and they went on to enjoy a nine-year marriage throughout the 1990s.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
