Coleen Nolan has spoken about the experience of having an abortion at the age of 16, saying she "didn't tell a single soul" at the time.
The ITV show's panel were today (March 6) discussing whether it is too easy for women to end a pregnancy, and two minutes into the topic, Coleen courageously opened up about deciding to have a termination when she fell pregnant at 16.
Casting her mind back 35 years, she told the audience and co-hosts how falling pregnant at the height of The Nolan Sisters' fame meant that she felt abortion was the only option for her.
Adding that she feared the reactions of her Irish Catholic parents and society generally, she explained: "I had just turned 16 when I found out I was pregnant. And I had just joined my sisters and with my parents being Irish Catholic I had never had a conversation with my mum or dad about sex, or boyfriends or anything.
"I was six weeks pregnant and I did go ahead and have a termination. And I didn't tell a single soul. Apart from who would have been the father of the child, who was fantastic and stayed with me through the whole thing."
She went on to explain that her parents never knew that she was expecting at 16, as she never felt it necessary to tell them and they have since passed away.
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Coleen wrote about her abortion in her biography Upfront and Personal that she released nearly eight years ago, but this was her first time talking about the decision on television.
Fellow panellist Stacey Solomon told a very different story about discovering her pregnancy after she'd passed the 20-weeks mark.
"When I found out I was pregnant, I was 17 and so was like, 'I can't do it now, I'm too young, I must have the procedure'," she said.
"My mum went with me, there were quite a few steps before the actual procedure, a consultation, you speak to a therapist, and a scan.
"That's where it became a bit too real for me. I could see my mum in tears and the reality hit me."
Stacey went ahead with the pregnancy and Zachary is now 10, while Coleen now has two grown-up boys.
Loose Women airs weekdays at 12.30pm on ITV.
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