Coleen Nolan has vowed that her new relationship is for keeps after revealing she and boyfriend Ryan Brockbank have got matching tattoos.
The ITV Loose Women star shared details of her romance with Ryan, who is more than a decade younger than her, during Thursday's (September 24) episode of the show as she showed off the three-word inking on her right arm to her co-stars - Kaye Adams, Janet Street-Porter and Katie Piper - which simply says UNTIL THE END.
How the romance began
Coleen, 61, and Ryan, who's in his 40s, went Instagram official with their romance in August just months after they started dating. Ryan later revealed that he slid into Coleen's DMs on the photo-sharing app.
In a screenshot of their first exchange, Ryan first messaged Coleen in May and said: "Hey. Hope you are having a great weekend. Drink?" Coleen simply replied with a love heart emoji. But that didn't stop Ryan from trying further, as he then asked whether she was watching Eurovision – which began a back and forth of messages, reported The Sun.
Coleen on the tattoo decision
Speaking about her decision, grandmother Coleen said: "He's got lots of tattoos which are great and then he said 'we should get a matching one' and I was like 'ooh ok' and then I was literally 'yeah let's do it.' He was kind of joking, like testing me, and I went 'yeah, let's do it, let's do it' so we did."
On the reaction from her family, she said: "My kids when I went home went 'what is going on?' Do you know, I'm in my 60s now, there's more life behind me than in front and I'm going to do exactly (what I want). I've spent my whole life working, bringing up kids like most people. All my kids are parents themselves and moving on. I'm going to live my life."
Meaning behind the phrase
Discussing the meaning behind the phrase etched on her arm Coleen added: "I've met someone I want to do that with and it is for both of us, certainly for me, until the end."
Coleen, who was married to EastEnders star Shane Ritchie, met Ryan following her stint on Celebs Go Dating. She shared her first photo of them both in August with the initial R and a loveheart emoji next to it.
She was inundated with support from her family and followers. Coleen's sister Anne Nolan wrote: "Lovely photo xx", while Maureen Nolan commented: "What a handsome couple xxx." Coleen's daughter, Ciara Fensome added: "Ryaaaaannn" and Celebs Go Dating agent Anna Williamson said: "There she is my Queen Coleen. You deserve it all."
Fans also loved seeing Coleen all loved-up, as one follower wrote: "New partner x congratulations Col very happy for you! Ya deserve it x", while another said: "So happy for you."
Loose Women is on ITV1 weekdays at 12.30pm and ITVX.
