Loose Women’s Denise Welch left ‘devastated’ after being kept in the dark about co-star’s struggle

Former Loose Women panellist Andrea McLean admits she didn’t tell her close friends about her money issues after her business folded in 2023, only confiding in family members

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Denise Welch was ‘devastated’ after a co-star hid their struggles from her(Image: ITV)

Loose Women star Denise Welch was “devastated” after being kept in the dark about a co-star’s struggle. Denise, 67, formed a close friendship with Andrea McLean during their 13-years on the ITV show together.

So much so that Andrea, 56, has previously revealed Denise is one of the two panellists she has kept in touch with since quitting the show in 2020. She however admits she didn’t tell her friend when she found herself facing a major financial struggle.

Andrea, who had been bringing home a six-figure salary during her time in TV, decided to start a business with husband Nick Freeney after leaving Loose Women. However the venture folded, leaving the couple “hundreds and hundreds of thousands” of pounds in debt.

Andrea told the Daily Mail’s You magazine that the couple sold their home, cashed out her pension, and even two engagement rings in order to pay off the debt. Today they live in a rented property in southern Spain.

The television star has now written a book, Shameless, where she speaks candidly about what happened with her finances. Although Andrea was open about her struggles with her family, she says she didn’t tell anyone else, including close pal Denise.

 

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Andrea and Denise hosted Loose Women together(Image: PA)

 

She says her friend learnt about her struggles when she received a pre-release edition of Shameless. Andrea explained: “I felt quite bad, actually, because I suppose I should have warned her [what was in the book].

“She was devastated [for me] and she was devastated as a friend that I hadn’t reached out to her. But I was just trying to fix a problem.”

Andrea and Nick’s business, This Girl Is On Fire, began life as a blog aimed at women as well as a shopping website. When the storefront shuttered overnight during Covid, the couple pivoted towards an app.

They wanted it to provide a series of masterclasses presented by experts as well as Andrea herself. Having refused investment, they remortgaged their home and took out bank loans instead.

 

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Andrea and Nick’s business folded in 2023(Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)

 

But soon found unpaid bills stacking up. The couple soon found themselves putting in £20,000 of their own money each month, with entrepreneur Nick selling his entire property portfolio.

Disaster struck in 2022 however when changes to Apple’s App Store requirements meant their app was rejected. Andrea then contracted long-Covid, and a year later the business folded.

After a close friend told her that her “star had faded”, Andrea found herself applying for a job at Starbucks. She says the coffee chain however didn’t even respond to her application.

Cashing in Andrea’s pension and scaling back their lifestyle meant the couple could eventually settle their debts in 2025. The couple do now allow themselves an occasional celebration, but Andrea says they are “still a way off booking a holiday”.

She concludes: “For a while, I was almost too scared to hope [things would getbetter]. Because it’s the hope that kills you.

“That was a hard flip-flop for my brain to make, to try and steer it back to being hopeful. But, yeah. I’m there now.’