Laila Rouass has been opening up about the end of her relationship with snooker legend Ronnie O'Sullivan.
The former Holby City actress spoke out on Thursday, thanking her fans for their "kind messages" and stating that break ups "don't have to be a sad time".
Laila, 50, took to her Instagram Stories to share a reflective and positive statement, in which she looked towards "new adventures" and reaching "a place of joy".
The Footballers' Wives actress, 50, announced her shock split from Ronnie, 46, via social media on Wednesday.
Ronnie, 46, and Laila had enjoyed a 10 year romance prior to going their separate ways.
Speaking to her 31,600 followers on Thursday morning, the actress wrote: "The things about break ups... It doesn't have to be a sad time.
"It doesn't have to be hard. It can be the beginning of new adventures, new learnings. It can be a wonderful teacher.
The mum-of-one continued in the reflective update: "Using self-compassion & manifesting a new life without someone you love can still lead you to a place of joy."
Laila concluded by thanking her followers for their "kind messages" in the wake of the split.
The actress then went on to promote an upcoming seminar she is hosting next month, titled The Self Compassion Workshop.
Laila and Ronnie first met in 2012, thanks to the sport star's father, and became engaged the following year - but never made it down the aisle.
In 2019, the now former couple opened up to the Mirror about their decision not to rush tying the knot.
"I’d have to really gear myself up for a wedding. At the moment we’ve put it on the back burner and we’re enjoying our time so there’s no rush," the mum-of-one explained.
Seemingly on the same wavelength, Ronnie added: "It becomes a bit more important as you get older for legal reasons but for now we’re OK.
"If something’s not broke, why fix it? If it’s working, why change a winning formula?"
The snooker legend continued: "We’ve been engaged for a while now, so we know we want to be with each other, I’m sure we will get round to it."
Laila announced their split on social media on Wednesday, telling her followers on both Twitter and Instagram: "After nearly ten years of love and memories, Ronnie & I have parted ways.
"Peace & love to you all. Laila X".
The former couple's love story began when the former Primeval actress was house hunting - with the snooker player's father going on to play cupid.
"It happened by accident," the mum-of-one told the Irish News in 2016 when discussing the beginning of their romance.
"I was shown around Ronnie’s house by his father, who told his son about meeting me.
"Ronnie called the estate agent, a friend of mine, and asked me out via her."
The former Strictly Come Dancing star added: "When she said he was a snooker player, I said, 'yeah, but what does he do for a living?' I’d never heard of him because sport doesn’t interest me at all, although Ronnie’s won me over to snooker."
Ronnie is yet to comment about their break up. The Mirror has previously reached out to representative for the star.
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