A close friend of Nicola Bulley has slammed “rumours” that the missing mum of two is an “unfit” parent, which are spreading in the wake of police information released last week.
Nadia Fell, 39, said cops’ decision to publicise the fact that Ms Bulley, who vanished while walking her dog by a river last month, had struggled with alcohol and the menopause was causing cruel suggestions to surface about her fitness as a parent.
The 45-year-old mortgage adviser vanished while walking her dog in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, sparking a massive police search operation.
Last week Lancashire Police revealed that Ms Bulley had ‘specific vulnerabilities’ before she went missing, before explicitly stating she had experienced problems with alcohol and the menopause.
The force has since said it would review its decision to reveal these personal details to the public.
Mum of three Nadia Fell, whose daughter is best friends with Ms Bulley’s youngest girl, said: “The rumours are starting that Nikki is an unfit mum… I will not hear it. Nikki is the most amazing mum ever. Those girls are her world.”
She added: “Many’s the time my daughter has spent time with Nikki without me and I’ve trusted her without question, why wouldn’t I?”
In the forthright Facebook post, Nadia continues: “I’ve never seen any red flags. Nikki is a normal mum. We all have ups and downs and being a mum is hard. Every day is a lesson. The menopause can be really tough.”
Ms Fell also recalled looking after Ms Bulley’s six-year-old daughter on the Sunday after her mum went missing.
"She didn’t know what was going on at that point, everyone was like, 'Just let’s not tell her'," she said.
"Everyone was holding on to a little bit of hope. I was sitting there thinking 'Your world is soon going to fall apart' and it was just horrible."
Of her own daughter, also six, Ms Fell added: "She understands but doesn’t understand at the same time. Some people aren’t having the news on and the television on when the kids are around, but I’m not hiding anything from her. If there was something really gruesome on the TV, I wouldn’t have it on because then you get questions about what the words mean and its really difficult. The basic line is that she’s missing, she’s lost and she [her daughter] understands those words.
"It’s hard for her seeing Nikki’s daughter so upset though.
"Nikki is lovely. Anything that needed doing for the school – PTA stuff – she was always there for it."
Nadia previously took to Facebook on Wednesday, 15 February, calling Lancashire Police "bang out of order" after they released details of Nicola’s "vulnerabilities".
The 45-year-old disappeared after dropping off her daughters, aged six and nine, at school on January 27 in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire.
She was last seen at 9.10am taking her usual route with her springer spaniel Willow, alongside the River Wyre.
The mortgage adviser's phone was later found on a bench still logged into a Microsoft Teams work call which had ended at 9.30am.
Her dog was also found wandering alone "bone dry" and agitated on the trail with her harness on the floor.
Just half an hour previously, the mum-of-two is understood to have texted a friend about meeting up sometime that week with her children.
