Shane Richie was almost Jesy Nelson’s father in law before ‘horrendous’ split from son
I’m A Celebrity’s Shane Richie was set to welcome Little Mix star Jesy Nelson into the family until her engagement to his son Jake Roche tragically crumbled
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Shane Richie has been dropping names left, right and centre in the I’m A Celebrity castle this year.
But there’s one he’s not mentioned, and that’s the Little Mix star who very nearly became his daughter in law.
From 2014 to 2016, Jesy, 29, was in a relationship with Shane’s son Jake Roche, who is the frontman of Push Baby (formerly known as Rixton).
The pair, who first met at Manchester Arena, hinted at their relationship on Instagram for weeks before it was revealed in the summer of 2014 that they were in fact an item.
Jesy and Jake quickly became pop’s cutest couple with countless loved-up selfies.
And Jake popped the question in July 2015 in the middle of a Little Mix soundcheck at Manchester Arena – a year after they met at the venue.
His singer pal Ed Sheeran even helped with the proposal, playing the pair’s favourite song, Tenerife Sea.
Posting a picture on Instagram, Jake wrote: “A year ago today I met her at manchester arena, so it was only right, with a little help from my friend, that this happened. Best day of my life.”
Jesy quickly became one of the family, revealing she’d hit it off with his mum, Loose Women star Coleen Nolan.
“When you go round to their house they are so open and I really like that,” she once told The Mirror.
“Some mums are really possessive over their sons.
“But she’s so lovely, she’s the best mum in law ever.”
For Shane’s part, however, when Little Mix posted a picture of themselves on Twitter, he joked that he wasn’t sure which one was his son’s fiancée.
He quipped: “Will the one who’s engaged to my son… please step forward… forgot what you look like !! #fatherinlaw”
Sadly, the couple split a year after getting engaged amid claims they had ‘grown apart’ and that they’d been on different pages about wanting kids.
While promoting Little Mix’s breakup anthem, Shout Out To My Ex, Jesy described the process of breaking up as ‘horrendous’ telling radio station Z100: “When you break up with someone, it’s awful. Is it not one of the worst pains?”
Neither divulged the exact reason for their separation, but Coleen admitted there had been too much ‘pressure’ on their romance from the start.
“As soon as you get engaged, as you’re showing someone the ring they’re going, ‘When are you getting married?’” she told Loose Women.
“Then the day you get married it’s, ‘When are you having children?’
“With Jake and Jesy when they first got engaged, everyone was asking me, ‘When’s the wedding?’ There’s so much pressure on relationships.”
But in 2017 Coleen revealed she was still in touch with Jesy, confirming they still exchanged ‘the odd text’.
“She’s doing great and they’re both really happy. It’s nice,” she told Yahoo.
“I’ll always be fans of Little Mix because my daughter has loved them since she was six. And it didn’t end horribly, or in rows, and no one else was involved.”
Want all the latest gossip straight from the jungle? Head on over to Mirror Online’s dedicated I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here’s Facebook page here.
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