Nicola Bulley’s family have criticised “appalling” speculation over her disappearance, saying people are “threatening to sell stories about her”.
In a statement issued by Lancashire Police, the family said the public focus “must be on finding her” and not “making up wild theories about her personal life”.
They also spoke about her perimenopausal symptoms, after the force revealed yesterday that the mother-of-two had suffered with some “significant issues with alcohol” in the past, brought on by her “ongoing struggles with the menopause”.
The 45-year-old has been missing since 27 January after vanishing when she took her dog for a walk by the River Wyre in Lancashire.
The family said: “We, as a family, believe that the public focus has become distracted from finding Nikki, and more about speculation and rumours into her and Paul’s private life.
“As a family, we were aware beforehand that Lancashire Police, last night, released a statement with some personal details about our Nikki.
“Although we know that Nikki would not have wanted this, there are people out there speculating and threatening to sell stories about her. This is appalling and needs to stop.”
“Due to the peri menopause Nikki suffered with significant side effects such as brain fog, restless sleep and was taking HRT to help but this was giving her intense headaches which caused Nikki to stop taking the HRT thinking that may have helped her but only ended up causing this crisis.
“The public focus has to be on finding her and not making up wild theories about her personal life.”
Senior officers said on Wednesday that Ms Bulley was “vulnerable” and classed by police as a “high-risk” missing person immediately after her partner Paul Ansell reported her disappearance.
