Los Angeles, April 6 (IANS) Reality star Helen Flanagan is opening up on the struggles of dating. The 35-year-old actress has shared that it’s not easy for her to form real connection owing to her fame.

The actress fears being recognised when meeting someone because it gets in the way of real connections, reports ‘Female first UK’.

She told BANG Showbiz, “If you’re in the public eye, it’s more difficult to date because you want to find someone who loves you for you. One of my best mates can go to the pub and meet someone, whereas I would feel a bit more nervous about that because then I’d think, ‘Oh, they might just go, Are you Helen?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, great’. It’s harder to meet people”.

In October 2022, Helen called off her engagement to 37-year-old footballer Scott Sinclair, whom she has daughters Matilda, 10, and Delilah, seven, as well as four-year-old son Charlie with.

As per ‘Female first UK’, Helen then dated former boxer David Haye, 45, which ended in December 2023 after six months, and ex-football player Robbie Talbot, 46, whom she split from in May 2025 after a one-year romance.

Returning to dating after a long-term relationship came as a shock to Helen, as she said, “I was in a long-term relationship from 19 to 32, so, for me, I started being single from 32, and I’m now 35. Everything’s changed so much with dating now. There’s so much social media and dating apps”.

Helen thinks the best way to navigate dating is by being herself, and that is her approach to ‘Celebrity Ex on the Beach’ which sees famous faces travel to Tenerife to meet potential lovers, only to also come face-to-face with their former partners.

–IANS

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