Helen Flanagan is set on giving her three children a magical Christmas, putting aside any differences with their dad Scott Sinclair and prioritising co-parenting.
The former Corrie star, 34, shares three children – Matilda, seven, Delilah, five, and Charlie, three – with footballer Scott Sinclair, 35. The pair separated in 2022 after a 13 year relationship, and decided to call off their engagement.
Despite confessing that she and her former fiance “do each other’s heads in”, as reported by the Mirror, she emphasises their unity when it comes to their family, stating: “We’re focused on what matters the most the kids. It’s all about communication and being fair.”
However, the journey hasn’t been smooth for the actress and Celebs Go Dating star, as she revealed the difficulty of spending last Christmas without her children. “It’s my turn with the kids this year because he [Scott] had them last year,” she discloses.
“We can’t do half and half because he’s in Bath and I’m in Manchester so it’s hard to have those split Christmas days. We take turns. I think it’s important to be fair when it comes to who gets the children over Christmas.”
Since September, she has been sharing her Lancashire home with her current partner, former non-league footballer and now construction firm boss Robbie Talbot, 45, who also has children from a previous relationship.
“It’s hard to talk about the role Robbie plays in my children’s life as Scott is still their dad, but having my boyfriend’s support is great,” Helen admits.
Meanwhile, Scott is currently living with his partner, model Louise Tarver, but has recently been spotted celebrating at Winter Wonderland in London’s Hyde Park with Helen and their kids.
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Helen is set to spend this festive season with her mum, expecting Robbie to join them later in the day. Working alongside WhichBingo, Helen shared: “Christmas is different for me every year. When I was with Scott, we moved all over the place because of football.”
She continued, “Sometimes we would visit his family, sometimes we would visit mine, and sometimes we would be somewhere completely random because he’s playing football. But I think Christmas is about the children.
“I don’t think it has to be honed in on one day, we celebrate all through November and December to make sure it’s special for them and they get time with both of us.”
Revealing a brighter outlook for the upcoming holidays, Helen disclosed her contentment being in a “happy and healthy relationship” with Robbie mentioning, “A lot of single mums can relate to me and when I met Robbie, I had so many lovely messages from people who had also gone through big breakups and divorces to say they were so happy for me.”
She continued, “It’s really nice to be back in a happy, healthy relationship after such a public breakup. I felt a lot of single mums could relate to me on Celebs Go Dating.
“I was very honest with my emotions on the show, but I also had to protect myself a bit. Navigating being a single mum takes time. I’m in a much better place than I was this time last year.”
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