Ronnie O’Sullivan has reportedly reunited with his ex Laila Rouass, 10 months after the couple ended their decade-long relationship.
In December, the Footballer’s Wives star confirmed reports that the couple had decided to part ways for good.
However, The Sun are now reporting that not only are Ronnie and Laila back together, they are hoping for a ‘clean break’ by ditching the UK for a new life in Dubai.
Ronnie, 49, is reportedly selling his £2 million home in Chigwell, Essex, and will relocate to the UAE with Laila, 53.
Sharing that Ronnie and Laila have been back together ‘for a while,’ a source told the publication: ‘They have been back together for a while.
‘The time apart gave them time to think about what they want and what is important to them — and that is being together.
‘Ronnie is moving to the Middle East and Laila is going with him. They’ve talked about living in Dubai, which is just a two-hour flight from where Ronnie has his snooker academy in Saudi Arabia.
‘They have had their issues in the past but Ronnie and Laila have worked through it and seem really happy again.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Ronnie O’Sullivan and Laila Rouass for comment.
In December, Laila first broke her silence on her split from Ronnie, telling the Mirror: ‘I am going to keep that under wraps for now until there is something to speak about.
Last year, the 53-year-old actress took to Instagram to speak out for the first time after her split from the snooker legend.
‘Break ups can strip you down to your essence,’ she wrote. ‘I got through mine by using pain as fuel to take control because no matter what, we will lose parts of ourselves in relationships. It’s normal, don’t beat yourself up.
‘One thing I’m conscious of not doing is trying to get back where I was. No, I’m discovering who I’ve become. I’ve gone through various emotions… hurt, pain, anger but what I’ve realised about anger is that it’s bottomless.’
Laila’s comments came after the couple put their £2 million Epping Forest home up for sale. Images show the luxury interior including Ronnie’s favourite portrait of Raquel Welch on a crucifix which adorned the wall of a staircase.
But despite the smart white carpeting and plush decor, O’Sullivan could never persuade his ex-love to agree to install a snooker table, friends revealed to Mail Online.
One friend said: ‘They had some very happy years there, Ronnie was successful in his snooker and Laila was in some great TV dramas like Footballers Wives and Life isn’t all Ha Ha Hee Hee.
‘They are selling the house together. It’s all agreed and should work out financially without any problems. Ronnie has a new place and has got himself a snooker table there.’
Suggestions that the couple’s famously on-off relationship was back in trouble first emerged in September – but then days later Ronnie was seen putting the bins out in his Y-fronts and slippers at the house they share in Essex.
The couple were also photographed together in the days that followed – but since then it’s understood they have both accepted their relationship has run its course.
Laila is continuing to live in the mansion and has installed a Christmas tree in the front window with glittering lights and daily takes her two dogs for walks in nearby woodland.
Her relationship with Ronnie first blossomed in 2011 after the snooker champ called her up to view his house that was recently put on the market and was given a tour by his father Ronnie O’Sullivan Sr.
They went on to have a relationship that lasted more than a decade and had planned to wed.
In an old interview Laila previously explained how they had first got together: ”It happened by accident.
‘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.’
They confirmed their whirlwind romance by getting engaged in the following year.
Speaking of their long engagement, Laila, who has a seven-year-old daughter called Inez from a previous relationship, told The Mirror in 2019: ‘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.’
But the couple split up after a decade together with Laila making the announcement to shocked fans.
‘After nearly ten years of love and memories, Ronnie & I have parted ways,’ she wrote on Instagram in February 2022. ‘Peace & love to you all. Laila X.’
However, that separation did not last long and by April, Laila was spotted wearing her engagement ring once again.
The following month, the pair confirmed their reconciliation, before jetting off on holiday.
The actress said last year that open communication brought them back together after their split.
Laila said: ‘We found our way back, we just worked it out. Back when I announced it, we hadn’t been together for almost eight months at that time.
‘Talking is so underrated. If you can sit down and say how you feel and what you want when you get older that is much easier to say too.’
However, this time there doesn’t seem to be a way back for them.
The actress, who featured in the 2009 series of Strictly Come Dancing, surprised her 68,000 Instagram followers last week by revealing her new optimistic outlook on life in what it’s now clear was her first detailed post as a single woman.
She posted: ‘How are you all? I’m slowly dipping my toe back into Instagram. I took a much-needed break from socials to get my s*** together because these last few months have been testing to say the least.’
Laila continued: ‘The thing is, stepping back has been nothing short of magical and I think that’s largely because I’ve found faith.
‘I don’t necessarily mean the religious kind, although that does make up part of my faith journey, I mean actually discovering what faith can do for me and how it’s always been there, l’ve just not given it the acknowledgment it deserves.
What’s struck me is how faith is so much bigger than I am, so much more powerful and so much more effective.
‘You can call it God, Allah, Buddha, nature, energy, frequency, it doesn’t matter. What matters is the perspective and peace it gives you.
‘l’ve realised how faith controls so much more than I ever could and that was an epiphany for me. It’s had the most profound effect.
‘I feel so much lighter and I feel as if my heart has really, truly and fully opened.
‘I have been approaching things with an open heart and mind because I really do have faith that things will work themselves out. That life will be good and to enjoy what l have because as good as life is, it’s also fickle.
‘Truly understanding faith has given me so much freedom to make choices that are not always safe.
She continued: ‘It’s liberating to just let go of the bullshit and anything or anyone that’s a thief of joy.’
‘I wanted to share this with you because I’m entering a new chapter of my life and it’s terribly exciting. Exciting because I don’t feel alone.
‘I have my faith right next to me and it’s taught me that life is infinitely more richer when it’s lived in honesty and trust.
‘If I could offer you one gift today it would be the gift of Faith.’
