Helen Flanagan bravely opens up about devastating psychotic breakdown after love split

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Week, former Coronation Street actress Helen has revealed the torment of a breakdown she endured after splitting from her partner of more than a decade

Actress Helen Flanagan has bravely opened up about the devastating breakdown that she feared would rob her of everything she holds dear.

The former Coronation Street favourite, 33, faced an emotional struggle after splitting from footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair, 35, after 13 years together and spiralled into a “very scary” psychotic episode. Her nightmare began after what looked like a dream New Year’s break in Bali with their children Matilda, eight, Delilah, five, and Charlie, three. Behind the stream of smiley photos she posted, Helen says she was in turmoil.

She said: “My kids weren’t with me on Christmas Day because I like to be really fair with my ex, and it sounds so silly because it was only one day, but it hit me really hard. The plan was for me to take them to Bali for New Year instead, and although I enjoyed it, I didn’t feel myself. I was struggling. I felt terrible when I got back, I was crying all the time, I felt so low.”

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness week, which begins on Monday, Helen – who was in I’m A Celebrity in 2012 – looked the picture of happiness as she posed with her kids in a Merseyside coast shoot, But, becoming emotional as we spoke, she said she now realises she was carrying unresolved trauma over the 2022 split with Scott, 35.

Helen said: “I don’t see it as a break-up, I see it as a divorce. We were together 13 years. But instead of processing it all, I threw myself into work and shut off my emotions. I just went into survival mode. Then it all came to the surface earlier this year and I was mentally and physically breaking down.”

Struggling to feel “normal”, she started medicating her ADHD but suffered an “awful reaction” to her prescription and went into a psychotic episode. Tearful Helen said: “It was really sad and very scary. I was seeing things and I felt like I was in danger all the time.”

The hardest part was not realising what was happening at the time. Her nanny contacted her parents, Julia and Paul, to alert them that something was wrong and Helen agreed for her kids to stay with them while she got help. Helen said: “I wanted to do what was best for the kids and that was the right decision. I saw them every day because it was important for them to see me getting stronger.”

Sadly, she had to pull out of playing Miss Scarlett in the theatre tour of Cluedo 2, as it would have meant months on the road. Helen said: “I was having a breakdown, I couldn’t have travelled alone. I needed my friends and family, and to be there for my kids.”

A true professional, Helen joined Corrie as Rosie Webster aged nine and was in more than 1,000 episodes until 2018. She said of Cluedo 2: “I was heartbroken. It was my dream job and I thought I’d ruined my career. But I knew I needed to deal with things so I wouldn’t ever get to that place again.”

She has since seen the show and said her replacement, Corrie co-star and Strictly contestant Ellie Leach, 23, was brilliant. As a part of her healing and recovery, Helen has rediscovered her love of exercise. She also found tackling long-overdue tasks, such as de-cluttering her home, has cleared her mind and helped ­tackle the trauma. She said: “I love work but my kids need me at home more. Having that time off was healthy, it changed my life in a way.”

Helen’s healing work has also aided her co-parenting relationship with Bristol Rovers player Scott. When they broke up and the kids were with him, Helen would escape her empty house by going to London to drink. But she said: “Now I really love it. I stay at home, watch TV or do pilates, go for a run or a swim.”

She has always appreciated “two happy homes are better than one unhappy home” and she and Scott are in a “better place than ever”. Helen said: “I don’t want to live with toxic feelings, I want to get on with the father of my kids and he’s the same. When we found each other on a dating app we had a laugh about it, which shows how far we’ve come.”

And how did the app work out for Helen? “I went on a few dates. The people were lovely but I don’t really like the idea of choosing a partner based on looks. I still believe in love and The One but I think I’ll just go with the flow. I hadn’t been on the dating scene for 13 years so it’s like a whole new world.”

Helen hopes to be a good example for her kids, saying: “I love my children more than anything but we don’t own our kids – we bring them up, love them, give them everything, then you have to let them go. It’s important we don’t lose ourselves as mums, that I still have my own identity. I want them to see me as fearless.” And Helen was certainly fearless when she risked judgemental comments by posing in lingerie for Ann Summers recently.

She said: “Just because we’re mums doesn’t mean we can’t be sexy, right? I love to dress sexy and I’ve always done lingerie modelling – it’s empowering. I’m all for women embracing their bodies and feeling good. I get a bit stick for it on social media but so what? I’m very much a free spirit and just like to be myself.”

Many of her fans would like her to expose even more skin and, just like ex-Hollyoaks star Sarah Jayne Dunn, join adult content site OnlyFans. Sarah Jayne, 42, has reportedly made over £700,000 selling her content. But Helen said: “What she’s done is amazing. But I just don’t really fancy it. I don’t know why some people have a problem with what other people do, I think each to their own.”

Now Helen is feeling strong again, her attention is on having a strong emotional bond with her children for the sake of their own mental health. She said: “Matilda is a little angel. She’s definitely more sensitive. Delilah is like me, we’ve got similar personalities. She’s hilarious. And Charlie is beautiful, a gorgeous, cute little boy.”

Helen still struggles talking about this year’s trauma but is determined to help dispel the stigma around mental health, having seen the huge positives that came out of her darkest moments. She said: “I don’t think I’d have worked on my relationship with Scott if it hadn’t happened, so the time out changed everything for the better. I’ve always been open, it’s partly my personality and partly my ADHD. I know I’m lucky. I’ve got beautiful children and lots of good things in my life. I hope talking might make someone feel less alone.”