6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Helen Flanagan's 'nightmare' living and co-parenting with ex Scott Sinclair
Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan has had a torrid time lately, as a source claims the star is 'spinning a lot of plates'
They may have split up three years ago, but Helen Flanagan and her ex, Scott Sinclair, have been co-parenting under the same roof – despite the actress previously claiming they 'don't like each other'. Last week, the former Coronation Street star revealed that she and footballer Scott, who share three children – Matilda, 10, Delilah, seven, and Charlie, four – have been living at her Greater Manchester home.
The revelation, as OK! reports, comes less than two months after Helen, 34, called time on her year-long relationship with construction worker Robbie Talbot, 45. During an online rant about her driving ban, which is expected to be lifted this month, Helen admitted that she and Scott, 36, had been spending time together ahead of Delilah and Matilda's birthdays at the end of June.
She said, 'So Scott is off at football, but we are back co-parenting in the same house, which we don't usually do. But it actually went OK. Obviously we have todo that because it's the kids' birthdays.'
The pair separated in 2022 after 13 years together. But, a source has told n ew that the former couple are determined to put their differences aside for their three children.
'They've been trying to do the right thing by the kids since they split, but being under the same roof isn't easy, especially when they've got so much history there,' said the source. 'It's not exactly a clean break for Helen. She's not in the best place at the moment and is spinning a lot of plates.'
It's no secret that the actress, who shot to fame playing Corrie 's Rosie Webster, has been feeling the strain in recent months – and sharing her home with Scott is likely to be putting her under even more pressure. Her year got off to a shocker of a start when, in January, she was slapped with a six-month driving ban after being caught speeding twice in her Audi Q7 last summer.
Helen, who lives in the countryside near Bolton, told Wirral Magistrates' Court she would 'really struggle without a car' and that losing her licence would cause 'exceptional hardship'. She also claimed she could not afford the £10 taxi ride to take her son to nursery, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
Last week, her frustration was all too clear as she vented about her predicament on Instagram. In a video, Helen told followers how the ban had left her feeling helpless, especially when it came to running a household alone. 'I've not had a car for ages and it's been really awful,' she said. 'We are out of loo roll now – I can't pop out to the shops. My friend has to bring me loo roll.'
'Losing her driving licence when she's got three kids to look after is a nightmare,' said our source. 'Helen really just wants to get back into acting and be financially independent and stable, for herself as well as the kids. Even though she does well with brand deals, [an acting job] would make a massive difference in making her more independent.'
Despite their ongoing attempts to co-parent at Helen's pad, our source said Bristol Rovers player Scott's football schedule means Helen still has to do the lion's share of the work.
'It's hard being a single mum and she's on her own a lot of time,' they said. 'The kids' dad is working five hours away, so it's not like she's able to get much help, unless they're with him on the weekend. She and Scott have done a brilliant job of managing the kids and co-parenting after splitting up, but it's not always easy and Helen does a lot of the heavy lifting in that dynamic.'
Earlier this year, Helen talked about how she finally pulled the plug on the relationship after struggling to make it work. 'Me and Scott really loved each other, but we were always quietly breaking up and then getting back together, so it had been a long time coming,' she said. 'In the end, it was me who decided. I'll always be sad it didn't work out and we still have love for each other, but we're happier apart.'
Despite a rocky few years – at one point, Scott even blocked Helen's number – the pair managed to put their differences aside in March, when they came together to celebrate son Charlie's fourth birthday.
'Don't get me wrong, sometimes we still end up telling each other to f**k off. But we've managed to keep things quite nice and we've been fair to each other,' Helen said in April. 'It's helped that our families get on and I have a good relationship with his mum.'
Helen, who starred in last year's series of Celebs Go Dating , previously admitted she's 'not good at being single', but with Scott now spending more time at her house, it looks like romance with anyone else is not on the cards.
'She's not interested in meeting someone so soon after Robbie but, even if she was, it's not going to be easy when she's basically living with Scott,' said the source. ' She's desperate for things to change and just needs something to go her way.
'Friends hope she can catch a break soon and get back into acting, which is what she's really focusing on. Yes, a new relationship would be great, but, equally, she's not desperate to jump into something again. She knows she's got enough on her plate.'
