Ronnie O’Sullivan and Laila Rouass, who are said to have called off their on-off relationship after 12 years, were photographed separately following the split
Ronnie O’Sullivan and Laila Rouass have been pictured for the first time since reportedly ending their engagement.
The couple, who are said to have called off their on-off relationship after 12 years, were photographed separately following the split. Dour-looking snooker legend Ronnie was spotted jumping into his black Lamborghini at Woodford station, near his mansion in Chigwell. The 48 year old – who was keeping a low profile in a dark hoodie and trackies – is said to have spent little time with the EastEnders actress, 53, recently and was knocked out of the BetVictor English Open on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Laila looked as glam as ever grabbing her daily shop in a leather jacket and shades. Swinging a 12-pack of water bottles by her side, she completed her all-black ensemble with a pair of baggy trousers tucked into boots. The actress appeared to be in good spirits as she made her way to her car, smiling as an unknown man helped with her bags into the boot. It comes a month after Laila was pictured without her wedding ring during an appearance on ITV’s This Morning.
It’s thought the pair haven’t been able to spend much time together recently as the sports star has been taking part in competitions abroad. A source told The Sun: “They have been going in different directions.” The insider continued to explain how Ronnie had spent months on the road, travelling to countries such as China and Saudi Arabia for big-money competitions.
“Meanwhile, Laila’s concentration was said to have been firmly on her career.There is a lot of love between them but they have been going in different directions and conceded it is over,” the source said. However, they admitted those closest to the pair were hopeful it is “a blip” similar to their brief split in 2022.
The source devastatingly said: “They’ve tried so hard but they just can’t make it work.” Last month, EastEnders star Laila was also spotted not wearing her engagement ring on This Morning. The couple first met in 2013 before Ronnie popped the question a year later.
After splitting in 2022, they reconnected a year later, with Ronnie saying at the time he had to “behave”. “She’s great. I love her. She’s great company and I love being around her,” he said at the time.
“She’s very supportive. I have to behave myself. I know when to go, ‘Alright, you’re in charge’. But she’s also really good at going, ‘Listen, you’ve got a busy life, you’ve got a lot to do, just get on with it’. Now it feels a lot better – everyone’s just in a better place. I just want to see her and her daughter happy, and her family, who are like my family, happy.”
Ronnie and Laila first met in 2011 when she went to view his home he had put on the market and was given a tour by his dad. “It happened by accident,” she explained. “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.
“When he 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.”
The pair went on to enjoy a whirlwind romance and – despite getting engaged a year after meeting – they never tied the knot. Opening up to the Mirror in 2019 about their long engagement, Laila said: “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.”
While Ronnie said: “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? 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. We’re very casual and laid-back about the whole thing anyway. When it happens, it will happen. I love her, I love her company, I admire her. She’s good for me in many ways and understands me and the business and gets it and what I go through.”
Announcing their initial shock split in February 2022, Laila wrote on Instagram: “After nearly ten years of love and memories, Ronnie & I have parted ways. Peace & love to you all. Laila X.”
Yet the couple were able to reconcile just months later, with Laila spotted wearing her engagement ring again in April and then confirming that they were back together in May after a romantic holiday away.
“Me and Ronnie are back together, we found our way back,” she said at the time. “We just worked it out – back when I announced it, we hadn’t been together for almost eight months at that time.”
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