Helen Flanagan spent the weekend ‘sad’ and ‘alone’ whilst her children visit their dad Scott Sinclair

Helen Flanagan has opened up about feeling “sad” when she is alone in her family home. The former Coronation Street actress, 32, took to Instagram yesterday (9 May) to explain the “reality” of loneliness after spending a long weekend without her three children.

She shares Matilda, seven, Delilah, four, and Charlie, two, with her ex-fiance Scott Sinclair. Despite splitting from the Bristol Rovers star in October 2022, they continue to co-parent, and she explains on Instagram that her kids were “having a good time with their daddy and nanna”.

Helen posted a video of her cuddling Matilda’s pet guinea pig and waving a Union Jack flag, alongside two bare-faced selfies. She explained that she would usually “run to London and get drunk” to handle being alone, however added: “I felt like it was time though to face being in my family house on my own which is something I’ve put off for a very long time as I didn’t want to feel sad. But sometimes I suppose you’ve just got to feel stuff and it’s ok to cry x I wanted to share this because sometimes we scroll on Instagram and things can look perfect but in reality some things are just S**t 😅😂… also I have a big following of other mums and women that will relate to me and I love that I’ve built a supportive network of women ❤️x”.

The mum-of-three told her one million followers that she “binge ate” a Colin the Caterpillar cake, stayed in her dressing gown and cleaned the house, which is now “immaculate”.

Comments of support came flooding in for the I’m A Celebrity star, with fellow campmates Carol Vorderman and Georgia Toffolo leading the way with “Woo hooo” and “I LOVE you” respectively.

Love Island star Laura Anderson wrote: “Well done angel big step doing that and for sharing. Life is shit sometimes, makes us appreciate the good times hey. All my love 👏”, whilst Big Brother alum Chanelle Hayes added: “You’re doing amazingly, setting a great example for your beautiful girls about how to be a strong woman who can articulate her own feelings! ❤️🙌”

This morning (10 May), Helen took to Instagram again to post a glamorous picture of herself wearing a floral dress, explaining: “had to post a glam pic of myself…. don’t want people thinking I just stay at home in my dressing gown all the time with Guinea pigs”.

One fan assured the blonde beauty: “😍 Staying at home isn’t he dressing gown is perfectly normal lovely lady xxx”