Helen Flanagan finally reveals real reason she broke up with fiancé Scott Sinclair

Helen Flanagan, 34, has opened up about the sad truth of her relationship with footballer ex Scott Sinclair and now says she still 'adores' the father of her children

Helen Flanagan has revealed for the first time why her relationship with footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair collapsed.

The Celebs Go Dating beauty and Scott, who share three children, called it quits in 2022 after 13 years together. In a recent new raw interview, the 34-year-old star admitted that despite deeply caring for her ex, they just didn't "like" each other anymore so called it a day.

Now she says that the ex Manchester City and Celtic player didn't understand her OCD or mental health. That, she feels, meant there was no turning back - despite saying she still "adores" the father of her children. Following their breakup, Scott, 35, has found new romance with model Louise Tarver.

"I was with him for a really long time, but I think one of the problems with me and Scott is he didn't understand," she told The Life of Bryony podcast "He didn't try to understand really, but he's not a bad guy. He had a lot of his own stuff going on.

"But I felt like he wasn't there for me a lot with those kind of things. I think that was one of the reasons we broke down. Then I remember after I had Charlie, I remember I didn't think he was my baby," the former Coronation Street actress went on.

"For quite a while because I remember he was born with like a lot of like dark hair and next to me in the ward there was this Asian couple, but I thought for some reason that the midwife would have swapped my baby because I was confused I had this baby with black hair but that wasn't obviously the midwife, this was my OCD because Just playing up."

Earlier this year, Helen exclusively revealed to the Mirror how she suffered a breakdown after splitting from Scott, admitting she spiralled downwards into a "very scary" psychotic episode. She says 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." Speaking about the break up, she went on: "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 came to the surface earlier this year and I was mentally and physically breaking down." Things are now looking up for TV star , who recently moved her new boyfriend Robbie Talbot into her family home. She says he is "really lovely' and that she is "really happy".