Nicola Bulley's partner now from heartbreaking tears to theory about her death

21 November 2023 , 10:53

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Nicola Bulley's partner now from heartbreaking tears to theory about her death

Nicola Bulley's partner Paul Ansell lives with the pain of losing his other half.

It's been almost 10 months since Nicola disappeared while walking her family's springer spaniel along the River Wyre in Lancashire, and now her family and friends have heartbreakingly had to learn to navigate life without her. The mum-of-two - known to loved ones as Nikki - vanished after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, to school on January 27.

Nikki's disappearance sparked a three-week manhunt before her body was found further down the river on February 19. Her long-term partner Paul, 44, spoke of his 'agony' at the discovery and said: "We're all together, we have to be strong." An inquest into her tragic death in June confirmed that Nikki, 45, had accidentally fallen into the water and drowned.

Nikki and Paul were together for 12 years and had two daughters together (Facebook)

The mum-of-two was described by a friend as 'the most beautiful person, inside and out'

Nikki, a mortgage advisor, had been with Paul for 12 years and they shared two young children together. The couple lived in a family home in Inskip, Lancashire, where Paul worked as an engineer. Paul described Nikki as an "incredible mum". In his witness statement, he said: "Nikki was a quiet person who enjoyed the simple side of life. She was a very private person and kept herself to herself."

During the police search in early February, Paul revealed the couple had frequently talked about getting married and for their daughters to act as bridesmaids, but put their plans on hold because of the pandemic. He told Channel 5 presenter Dan Walker: "We talked about it again seriously at the beginning of 2020. And that was when we really started to actually look at getting something sort of in the calendar."

Mum appeared 'completely normal' moments before vanishing while walking dog

Paul said the family was going through "unprecedented hell" as the search for Nikki continued. Talking about his children, he said: "The only thing that I can do is tell them that everybody is looking for Mummy. The best people in the world are looking for Mummy - just to give them that, you know, that level of hope that they can understand that everything that can be done to find Mummy, is being done."

Paul told their young children that the 'best people in the world' were looking for Mummy (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

Speaking about Nikki, Paul said: "She is fun. She is loving. If you're friends with her, she's the most loyal friend that you could ever have. With Nikki, what you see is what you get. There's no hidden, nothing's hidden. You know, it's all. That's, that's her. And she is an exceptional mum and she absolutely adores our girls. And goes above and beyond."

Nikki's close friends praised Paul for remaining strong during the quest. "The strength this man has shown over the past 14 days is nothing short of a miracle," the couple's next-door neighbour and close friend, Charlotte Drake, told the Metro one week before the mum's body was found. She added: "Nicola is without doubt the most beautiful person, inside and out who would do anything for anyone. We joke she is the sort of mum we all want to be – loving, friendly and just a wonderful human being."

At the hearing in June, Paul broke down in tears as he gave evidence. He shared his devastating theory of how she ended up in the river. He said he thought she went to put on Willow's harness before falling into the water. Her mobile phone was still connected to a work Teams call when it was found on a bench overlooking the water. "She was still listening to that meeting, so I think she must have maybe put the phone on the bench and gone to put the harness back on Willow," he said.

Paul believes Nikki accidentally fell into the river when she was putting her spaniel's harness back on

He also explained why the harness was removed from Willow. "We would always take the harness off before going through the gate. Because she's a springer she's very erratic and into the bushes so anything that is on her that could get caught we used to take it off," he said. On the day Nikki vanished, Paul sent her a text message saying: "Have you got lost?" She had a meeting planned for 11am that day, so when it passed 10.30am, he "started to feel a bit concerned".

Twenty minutes later, their children's school would ring him to say that her phone and Willow were found. The coroner referenced Ring doorbell footage which shows Paul leaving the house at around this time. Following the inquest, Nikki's family released a statement that described how "extremely tough" the last few months had been. "The emotional impact will stay long in our hearts and whilst we'll never get over the loss of our Nikki, we will forever remember her as the brilliant mum, partner, daughter and sister that we all knew and loved so very much," it read.

The statement thanked family, friends and complete strangers for their support and said "Nikki and Paul's girls have already taken great comfort in the deeply thoughtful gifts sent to them in goodwill". It ended by asking for privacy and time for the family to grieve privately. "Now we need to be allowed time to comprehend all of the events leading up to this day. We ask that you all respect our privacy at this time, let us rebuild and take time to heal," it finished. Paul has since remained out of the public eye as he grieves the loss of his beloved partner of over a decade.

Nia Dalton