Coleen Nolan makes heartbreaking dementia confession: ‘Put me in a home and walk away’
Loose Women star Coleen Nolan has opened up about one of her deepest fears — being diagnosed with dementia — in an emotional new interview.
Speaking to BBC Radio Stoke, the 58-year-old TV personality revealed how her mother’s devastating battle with Alzheimer’s has shaped her own fears for the future. Maureen Nolan, Coleen’s mum, passed away in 2007 at the age of 81, after spending five difficult years with the disease — during which she no longer recognised her daughter.
Now, despite not having dementia herself, Coleen has already had a candid conversation with her three children — Shane Jr (36), Jake (32), and Ciara (24) — about what she wants should the worst happen.
“It’s my biggest fear,” she admitted. “I’ve said to my kids, if I ever get it — god forbid — put me in a care home and walk away. I won’t know, and it’s awful.”
While her children strongly opposed the idea, Coleen insisted: “Don’t feel guilty. That’s what I want… as long as it’s a nice home!”
She reflected on caring for her mother, admitting the final years were “really bad”. “She would have tantrums like a two-year-old,” Coleen said. “She didn’t know us. I’d wake up and think, ‘I don’t want to go and see her because it just killed me inside.’”
Calling it a “massive guilt” no child wants to experience, Coleen’s brutally honest words struck a chord with fans who have gone through similar experiences.
But dementia isn’t the only tragedy that has hit the Nolan family recently.
In January, Coleen lost her beloved sister Linda, who passed away following a 20-year battle with cancer and a final bout of double pneumonia. Just days after Linda’s death, Coleen’s brother Brian, 69, was diagnosed with stage 2 prostate cancer — making him the fifth Nolan sibling to face the disease.
“I just want cancer to leave us alone,” Brian told OK! Magazine as he prepares for surgery.
He appeared alongside Coleen on Loose Women this week, urging men to take their health seriously — a message made even more poignant amid the family’s ongoing struggles.
