Nicola Bulley's partner Paul now - tough decision, 'intense scrutiny' and emotional turmoil

Nicola Bulley disappeared while walking her dog by the river in January 2023 and was discovered in the water more than three weeks later. The Mirror takes at what life has been like for her devastated partner

The sad disappearance of Nicola Bulley gripped the nation in January 2023, but it is her partner who has had to heartbreakingly face each day without her.

It was while on her routine morning dog walk in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, that the mum-of-two went missing without a trace. Social media was sent into a frenzy with wild theories about her mysterious vanishing, with so-called TikTok sleuths taking the case into their own hands. It wasn't until three and a half weeks later that the 45-year-old's body was found in the river.

An inquest into her death in June confirmed Nicola had accidentally fallen into the near-freezing water and drowned. At the time of her disappearance, Nicola's partner Paul Ansell, also the father of their two daughters, was subjected to cruel rumours and scrutiny.

The dad has remained out of the public eye over the past year as he grapples with the family's immense loss. Back in February, Channel 5 presenter Dan Walker - who kept in touch with Paul - told of the grieving man's struggle. "It would be wrong for me to say they're doing okay because how can you be okay? The family are trying their best in impossible circumstances to live one day at a time and the kids are surviving in a world without their mum which must be heartbreakingly difficult to deal with every day."

But now, brave Paul is set to appear on the BBC in a documentary titled The Search For Nicola Bulley. Director Rachel Lob-levyt has admitted it was 'nerve-racking' to thrust the Lancashire mother's partner back into the public eye, but said she believed it was 'the right thing to do'. The show, which airs on October 3, will showcase the tough realities of what it was like for Nicola's loved ones.

Opening up about the premise of the documentary, Rachel said: "We had a viewing with the family. It was difficult - obviously emotional for them. They feel the documentary really honours their experience, and honours Nikki. At the time she went missing, Paul was subject to a really difficult level of scrutiny.

"The idea of putting himself back in the public eye is nerve-racking but ultimately, he thought it the right thing to do. The social media sleuths felt entitled to say whatever they wanted. In the past we'd have talked about these things in the pub, whereas now people broadcast it online and everything is accelerated. Opinion takes on similar weight to verified information."

The family have also issued a statement via Rogan Productions about the upcoming documentary, admitting that participating 'wasn't an easy decision'. They further stated: "Nikki's face and name quickly became very recognisable, but there is so much to share about Nikki the person.

"Our sole aim is to provide the definitive record on Nikki to ensure she has the legacy that she deserves. Many people have aired their views about her disappearance and her untimely and tragic death, only we can speak about her as a mummy, partner, daughter, and sister." The family also confessed: "It was emotionally draining reliving some of our experiences, but we wanted to do this for Nikki."

Nicola, known as Nikki to loved ones, had been with Paul for 12 years. The couple had talked about tying the knot with their daughters as bridesmaids but put wedding plans on hold due to the pandemic. "We talked about it again seriously at the beginning of 2020," he said. "And that was when we really started to actually look at getting something sort of in the calendar."

Paul described Nicola, who originated from Essex, as fun, loving and an "exceptional mum". "Without her the hole is bigger than you could possibly imagine," he said. Nicola's father Ernest tearfully described his daughter at the inquest as a: "great daughter, sister and mother, we couldn't ask for any more from her."

Nikki's close friends praised Paul for remaining strong during the search. "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 inquest 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.

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.