The family of missing mother Nicola Bulley have hit out against “appalling speculation and rumours into her private life” that has distracted the police investigation into her disappearance.
In a new statement issued on Thursday afternoon - on the eve of the three week anniversary of her disappearance - the family gave more details of the struggles Ms Bulley was experiencing with menopause and horomone replacement therapy (HRT) prior to her disappearance.
But they urged: “The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life.”
Their plea came after Lancashire Police on Wednesday said mother-of-two Ms Bulley had suffered with “some significant issues with alcohol” in the past, which had recently resurfaced following struggles with the menopause.
The force’s decision to release the personal information has been criticised, with some MPs who slamming it as “deeply troubling”.
In their statement on Thursday, issued through Lancashire Police, Ms Bulley’s family said: “It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing.”
“We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life.
“As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki.
“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.
“The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her.”
Her family said Ms Bulley was suffering the side effects of peri menopause including brain fog and restless sleep and was taking hormone replacement therapy to help.
But, they said, this was giving her “intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis”.
The family said there had been “wild theories about her personal life”.
“Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers.”
Ms Bulley’s family also appealed to her directly and urged her to get in touch.
“Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister, partner and mother and is missed dearly - we all need you back in our lives,” they said.
“Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk. Don’t be scared, we all love you so very much.”
Lancashire Police said: “Our sole focus throughout the investigation has been to find Nicola, to bring her home and to support her family through the trauma they are experiencing. The most important person in all of this is Nicola.”
