Nicola Bulley's children have been left "deflated" as the search for their mum continues. The missing mum-of-two vanished two weeks ago in St Michael's on Wyre in Lancashire.
Now, friend Emma White has discussed how her young children - who she dropped off at school the day she vanished - are coping. Talking on Good Morning Britain, Ms White said the pair are "resilient" but dealing with a lot of emotions, Birmingham Live reports.
Ms White said: "I think children are quite resilient aren't they, but they are obviously asking questions each day. The girls, when they get home from school, ask 'any news on mummy?' and Paul has to say 'no'. Paul says he can see the little girls just deflate.
"The little girl is saying 'Is my mummy famous?' and I didn't quite know how to answer that myself… for the wrong reasons." She added: "Just bring Nikki home, come to the sofa, with the girls, with Willow and you can have that happy story because that's what we're keeping hope for."
Ms Bulley vanished while walking her springer spaniel Willow near the river, shortly after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school. The mortgage adviser's phone was found on a bench overlooking the river, still connected to a work call.
Her partner, Paul Ansell said he wants to keep "all options open" about her disappearance, but his "gut instinct" tells him she is not in the river. He told Dan Walker on Channel 5 last night that he was keeping his hopes up for the kids.
He described Ms Bulley as "fun", "loving", "the most loyal friend you could ever have" and an "exceptional mum" who "absolutely adores our girls". "She's just a pillar of strength to our family and without her, the hole is bigger than you can possibly imagine," he told 5 News in a 75-minute documentary interview on Friday night.
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