Coleen Nolan has finally addressed a question she’s been hearing from fans for years—whether there’s a reason her rarely seen son, Jake Roche, doesn’t appear alongside the rest of the family as often.
The Loose Women star laughed off the speculation during a recent episode of the family’s Nolans Uncensored podcast, where Jake made a special guest appearance for the very first time.
“Do You Not Like Your Other Son?”
Coleen, 61, shares two sons—Shane Nolan and Jake Roche—with ex-husband Shane Richie, as well as daughter Ciara Fensome with former husband Ray Fensome.
While Shane and Ciara regularly co-host the family podcast with their mum, Jake has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent episodes, leading some viewers to wonder why.
As the family read messages from listeners reacting to Jake’s debut on the show, one comment praised him by saying:
“Jake makes the most sense.”
Laughing, Coleen replied:
“That’s fair.”
She then revealed the surprising assumption she often hears from fans.
“It was great having Jake on though, wasn’t it? Because everyone’s always like, ‘Do you not like your other son?’ It was great having him on.”
Her light-hearted response quickly put to rest any suggestion of family tension, making it clear that Jake’s absence from previous episodes had nothing to do with their relationship.
Jake’s Life Took a Different Direction
The conversation later turned more personal as the family reflected on growing up and how each sibling experienced their teenage years differently.
Coleen explained that Jake’s path changed dramatically after moving away from home at a young age to pursue his career.
“Jake, because he moved down South when he was like 14, I don’t know if he had much of a teenage experience, but his came much later when he got the fame and he went off the rails.”
Jake found early success as both an actor—appearing in Emmerdale—and later as the frontman of the pop band Rixton, thrusting him into the public eye while still young.
His older brother Shane reflected on how unusual that period was.
“Because he went to that school and he was living with Dad by himself.”
Growing Up Without a Support Network
Shane also compared Jake’s rise to fame with Coleen’s own experience as a member of The Nolans, suggesting they both navigated success without the strong support systems many young performers enjoy today.
“I think he’s very much similar to you in terms of where he didn’t have much of a team.”
Coleen agreed, explaining that Jake’s circumstances made it difficult for him to enjoy a typical teenage life.
“Also, where he lived, he didn’t have any mates. They all lived around London so there was never any of that, ‘Are we all meeting on a Friday?’ or whatever.”
