Helen Flanagan becomes emotional as she speaks about co-parenting struggles

Actress Helen Flanagan has revealed her struggles with co-parenting (Peter Byrne/PA)

Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan has opened up about the “struggle” that comes with co-parenting her three children.

The actress from Greater Manchester, 35, shares Matilda, Delilah, and Charlie, with her ex-fiance and footballer Scott Sinclair.

In a video on her Instagram story, Flanagan teared up as she said: “I f****** hate co-parenting, f****** hate it. But then I really, really struggle.

“I like, really struggle when they go away… I actually really struggle when they go away, because it’s like… I don’t like them going away. I only like them going away if I’m doing something. It’s just really hard.”

Flanagan broke down in tears while filming an update for her followers on Instagram (Ian West/PA)

She added: “It’s so hard because it’s like a double-edged sword. It’s like, when they go I want them straight back, and then when I’m with them all the time, I get really overwhelmed.

“I need to stop crying now. Actually, you know what though, I think it’s good to cry, just get it out. But I think I’ve just had bad anxiety recently.

“So I think if I go and do some exercise and just spend some time with my friends and get some sleep and just look after myself a little bit, just stuff that I can’t usually do.”

She continued: “It’ll be fine. I think I’ve just been like, filled up with anxiety and stuff, and I probably just need this time to actually just take it for me, and then I’m probably a bit clearer headed when they get back.”

Speaking about her struggles with being alone, she added: “I actually struggle being on my own. But it’s not just being on my own in a relationship, it’s like, I struggle being on my own, just in general, it always has to be with one of my friends.

“I’ve always been like that, I’ve always got my friends with me… I’m really bad at spending time on my own.

“I honestly can’t think of anything worse. I really, actually don’t know how to do it. Like, I’m always with my friends. I’m really bad at being on my own and I think it’ll be something I can work on, but I really don’t like my own company anyway. That is quite enough of my breakdown.”

In a follow-up video on Tuesday, she said: “Thank you so much for your lovely messages. Honestly, it made me feel so much better and it made me feel like I wasn’t on my own.

“But, yeah, (I) don’t usually like to cry, but I like to just actually share my real life on here and actually be myself.”

Flanagan has spoken about her mental health before and said premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) gave her “severe depression”.