- .Blanca Fouche, 31, met actor when they became neighbours and says there was instant physical attraction between them
- .Mother-of-four stood by the star when he was arrested for child sex abuse cases in September 2011 and throughout high-profile trial
- .Says she would hold Le Vell in her arms as he wept into the early hours of the morning repeating the words: 'I don't know what to do'
- .Le Vell acquitted earlier this month, but dumped Miss Fouche over text message two weeks later saying he needed to be alone
- .'I don't think I'll ever be able to love again,' heartbroken Miss Fouche says
Blanca Fouche speaks exclusively about her 'devastating' shock split from actor Michael Le Vell
Even during his darkest moments, Coronation Street star Michael Le Vell displayed outward resilience. He is an actor after all. Facing false child abuse allegations, the unbearable stress only really manifested itself behind closed doors.
Then, his 31-year-old girlfriend Blanca Fouche would watch him break – and do what she could to support him. She held him in her arms night after night as he cried into the early hours. Pitifully, he always repeated the same words: ‘I don’t know what to do.’
There were his jealous rages, too, and endless heavy drinking. Friends raised their eyebrows and questioned Blanca’s judgement – and, worse, strangers frequently abused them in the street in his home town of Hale, Cheshire.
All this Blanca endured because she never doubted Le Vell’s innocence; believed that much of his behaviour was due to exceptional pressure; and longed for the day when he would be able to bury the most devastating episode of his life. That moment came at Manchester Crown Court when, after five hours of deliberations, a jury found him not guilty. ‘It was over, neither of us could really believe it but it was the start of our new life together. It was wonderful,’ Blanca says.
But today, in an exclusive interview, Blanca reveals how Le Vell ended their relationship just two weeks later without offering any tangible explanation. He finally dumped her by text message, saying: ‘I can’t do this any more. It’s over.’
With her long hair draped across one shoulder and pink-painted fingernails gripping the arms of a chair, Blanca’s voice quivers as she describes Le Vell’s ‘betrayal’.
She says: ‘I’m still in complete shock. I feel totally used. I stood by him through the worst experience of his life, and now that it’s over he has just thrown me aside. He used me when times were tough, then dropped me like a stone like it meant nothing to him.
‘Michael told me I was the best thing that has ever happened to him – we were completely in love.
‘I honestly don’t think I will ever be able to trust anyone again.’
It was January this year when the 48-year-old actor, known for his 30-year career playing mechanic Kevin Webster, first caught Blanca’s eye after she moved in just a few doors away from him.
Born in Chile, she had moved to England with her father as a teenager, and has now been in the UK for almost 20 years.
The couple, pictured together in Manchester in June, met when Blanca moved in to Le Vell's street following her divorce from ex-husband Desmond
The mother-of-four has been twice married, and moved to the North West to go to university in Bury to study business management. She moved into Le Vell’s street after separating from her husband, Desmond.
She recognised him from Coronation Street, though she had not thought much of him before.
In the flesh, though, it was different; Blanca says the physical attraction was instant.
‘I thought he was handsome, and we would smile at each other as we passed in the street. Soon I realised he was walking past my house a lot more – and I would sit in the window and catch his eye as he did.’
For a couple of months it remained an unspoken flirtation, but Blanca – who describes herself as a ‘forward person’ – was determined to take it further. ‘There was a definite connection between us, a spark, and we could both feel it. If I want something I just ask, so I went to his house one day and put a note through the door.
‘It said, “Do you fancy a glass of wine?” and I put my mobile number at the bottom.
‘He texted me back that same day, just one line – “red or white?”
‘That evening I went to his house and we spent the evening laughing, joking and getting to know each other. It was lovely. We clicked straight away.’
Blanca says there was an instant physical attraction between the pair, pictured here just before the split
Only a month earlier, Le Vell had been re-arrested and charged on suspicion of sexually assaulting a child.
He was first arrested in September 2011 after allegations of sexual offences with a child were made.
In January 2012 the CPS announced the case against him had been dropped. But that decision was reviewed following a request from the accuser, and it was announced in February this year that Alison Levitt QC, principal legal adviser to the Department of Public Prosecutions, had authorised Greater Manchester Police to charge the actor with 19 alleged offences. He denied them all.
Blanca’s new relationship didn’t meet with the approval of her friends and judgmental eyes followed her everywhere.
Le Vell, pictured outside Manchester Magistrates Court, was first arrested in September 2011 over allegations of sexual offences with a child
‘Of course people judged me,’ she admits. ‘I know that lots of people were looking at me. I had known about the allegations, but from the moment I met Michael I knew he didn’t have it in him to do those things. I trusted him, completely. He said to me it was 50/50 whether he would go to prison or not and that scared him. I felt completely helpless because I knew there was nothing I could do to make the pain go away. I was so angry with the person who was putting him through that with false accusations.
‘He would cry, and say over and over again, “I don’t know what to do”. But with everyone else he put on a brave face. In public he seemed so strong but when we were together in private he was broken – nobody else saw his vulnerability.
‘I told him that he had to be strong, believe in justice, and that I would stand by him throughout it.’
Blanca is certain her support bolstered the actor as his anxiety worsened. But as the trial date approached, his anger – fuelled by increasingly heavy drinking – became more intense and more frequent.
Tearfully, she recalls his erratic mood swings during the period when ITV decided he should not appear on screen until after the trial.
‘He didn’t know what to do with himself. He would spend his mornings watching football on Sky Sports, and then in the afternoon he would go to his local pub, The Railway.
‘Most days he would go at about two o’clock, sometimes as early as one, and stay for most of the afternoon. At about six he would come home, and carry on drinking until he fell asleep. He has always liked a social drink and he admits that, but just before the trial it did get worse. I asked him to slow down with his drinking, but he couldn’t.
‘I felt the impact of his mood swings. When he was feeling low he would get very jealous.
‘If another man looked at me or spoke to me he would get angry, and he would make comments to me which were hurtful. He’d say things like, “Did you get his number then?” and “I hope he’s worth it.”
‘If I was out alone he would text me making jibes, accusing me of seeing other men. I wasn’t, and I never would because I loved Michael. But he is very insecure. I don’t know why, I can’t understand it. He doesn’t need to be.’
‘He was too tense and stressed. In the evenings sometimes he would just start to cry and say he couldn’t carry on, that he couldn’t cope.
Moment of truth: After eight days in court the actor, sketched in court above, waved to each member of the jury as they cleared him of all charges
Reaction: He then turned to his family and friends and sobbed when what had happened sank in
‘He would pace up and down the lounge staring at the floor and ranting about how he couldn’t understand why this was happening to him. When he got like that there was nothing I could do to calm him down. That said, he never got aggressive with me.
‘He would shout “why, why, why” and “I don’t deserve this”. But he was determined to clear his name.’
Whenever it seemed the couple had managed to settle in to some semblance of routine, it was always upset by unpleasant incidents in public. ‘People would shout things sometimes, really nasty things,’ says Blanca. ‘He became very wary of going anywhere too busy – if the pub was full his friends would warn him to stay away. When people did shout things he tried to hold himself back and contain his anger – but I shouted back, I defended him. I could see how it hurt him.’
Blanca, a former school teaching assistant, says she hoped his anger and jealousy would disappear when his name was cleared. ‘I hoped after the case things would be different, that he would relax. I was focused on the future.’
On the day of the verdict, Blanca was advised by Le Vell to remain at his home because he feared the pressure of the courtroom might be too much for her.
Le Vell, who had told Blanca to stay away from the court on the day of the verdict, pictured celebrating his acquittal with a pint of beer
As it was, she experienced knife-edge tension as she followed the trial’s conclusion online.
‘I was so, so relieved,’ she says. ‘I texted him and he called me back as soon as he had left the courtroom. The second we saw each other when he arrived home we just looked into each other’s eyes and hugged.
‘The next day we went for a meal with his family – he introduced me to his brother and his sisters, and everyone was so happy.
‘We all got on well, and we went out for another meal together that week. I clicked with his family too, and they were really, really lovely.’
The mother-of-four says she thinks she will struggle to find love again following the traumatic break-up
She added: ‘Meeting his family felt like a big step, a sign things were serious. Suddenly everything seemed so perfect.
‘I didn’t want marriage, or kids, I’ve done all that before. I just wanted to be with him. I would have done anything for him.’
Blanca’s firm conviction that a new life stretched before them was shattered last Monday when, once again, she says he behaved oddly during what was meant to be a romantic meal at a local Italian restaurant.
Nearing the end of the meal, Le Vell began a discussion with a neighbour. As the casual chat became a heated row, Blanca tried to intervene. Le Vell became enraged and swore loudly at her for interfering.
Humiliated, Blanca left the restaurant in tears, returning her own house alone. The following day the couple arranged to meet at The Railway, where Le Vell apologised.
She says: ‘He struggled to get the words out but after a few minutes he told me it was over.
‘I was angry and I shouted, I told him I had given him everything and it wasn’t fair. He said he didn’t want to row.
‘His last words were calm, just saying, “I can’t do this any more, it’s over”.
‘I went back to my flat and cried. He texted me, again saying, “I can’t do this any more, it’s over”.
‘His last text to me on Friday said simply: “Goodbye”.’
She adds: ‘I can’t understand how just two weeks after the verdict he could be telling me he didn’t want to be together. I couldn’t believe I was hearing the words. I still can’t.
‘I would never treat anybody the way he has treated me. What have I done to deserve this?
‘I had a nation judging me. I did it because I loved him and I thought it was forever.
‘Now I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love again.’
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