Coleen Nolan has spoken candidly about the profound sadness she faces this festive season, marking her first Christmas without her beloved sister, Linda Nolan.
A Family's Heartbreaking Loss
The Loose Women panellist, 60, reflected on the devastating loss of Linda, who passed away in January after developing pneumonia while battling cancer. Speaking to Woman Magazine earlier this month, Coleen admitted the holiday will be "extremely hard" without her sister, who she described as the "life and soul of family occasions."
"This will be our first Christmas without Linda and it will be extremely hard because she was the life and soul of family occasions. I really think I'm going to feel it," Coleen shared. She explained that while the large Nolan family once gathered at their parents' home every Christmas, it has now become logistically impossible with their own growing families.
Instead, the siblings plan to see each other in the lead-up to the big day or during "Twixmas" – the lull between Christmas and New Year.
A Long Battle with Cancer
Linda Nolan's health struggles were long and arduous. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. In 2017, she received news of secondary cancer between her pelvis and hip bone. The disease spread to her liver in 2020, and later that year, doctors discovered two tumours surrounded by smaller ones in her brain.
However, in an emotional statement announcing Linda's death, her sister Maureen Nolan clarified that cancer was not the direct cause. She revealed Linda had contracted double pneumonia over the Christmas and New Year period, and her weakened immune system could not fight the infection.
"She lasted nearly 20 yrs with one cancer or another, and so can you," Maureen wrote, urging others facing the disease to remain hopeful.
A Family's Painful History with Cancer
The Nolans are tragically familiar with cancer diagnoses. Four of the sisters have been diagnosed over the years. Their sister Bernie Nolan died from breast cancer in 2013 at the age of 52.
In a cruel twist of fate, Coleen herself revealed a personal cancer diagnosis on Loose Women in 2023. She disclosed she had been treated for carcinoma on her shoulder and had a separate area of pre-melanoma that required treatment.
"I thought, 'Oh well of course I have, cancer loves my family'," Coleen said, explaining she had "laughed" upon receiving the news due to her family's painful history with the disease.
Despite the sorrow of missing her late sisters this Christmas, Coleen has found rays of light and joy. She is celebrating the arrival of two new grandsons, born just weeks apart in late 2024, giving her new little ones to spoil over the festive period.
