ON Monday night, Sheridan Smith should have been celebrating the incredible career high of getting an International Emmy nomination.
Instead, the actress was suffering a personal low after ending yet another romance the only way she knows how — on Twitter.
Cilla star Sheridan, 34, called things off with 29-year-old indie rocker Andy Hopkins on Sunday evening, just one month after they had hooked up on the app.
In a series of now-deleted tweets, which The Sun was able to save, she announced she was “Single!!! :)))”, before telling a fan: “I sure am :) bye boys!!”
The Enemy bassist Hopkins is just the latest lover to be sought out by Sheridan on social media then very publicly dumped the same way.
He follows Hollyoaks hunk Greg Wood and Geordie Shore’s Ricci Guarnaccio, two other “tweet-hearts” who were wooed then shooed away by Sheridan via social media.
It is a bizarre way for one of the nation’s best-loved actresses to conduct her love life.
Stage and TV star Sheridan won a Bafta for ITV’s Mrs Biggs, made the Queen’s OBE honours’ list for her services to drama and has just got an International Emmy Best Actress nomination — her SECOND — for her turn as the late Cilla Black.
Alongside her talents, her down-to-earth manner and striking looks have brought her a legion of fans.
So why does such a popular figure turn to Twitter to find romance? And why, when it crumbles, does she turn to social media to tell the world?
A showbiz insider told The Sun yesterday: “No one can understand why Sheridan makes her personal life so public on Twitter when her career is in this amazing position.
“It is not the sort of behaviour you would expect from such a well-respected actress.
“She has no trouble attracting men, so to drive her entire romantic life through social media seems odd. There is every chance she could become a real superstar in the next year, but right now she is putting that at risk.”
There has been more drama in Sheridan’s love life in the past year than in any of her on-screen roles.
Most recently it involved musician Andy. A friend of the rocker told The Sun how Sheridan, who knows his brother, first reached out to him via social media.
The pal revealed: “Sheridan initially direct messaged Andy on Twitter, asking him out for a drink after noting that they were both going to be in the same city on the same night.
“He was still getting over his last relationship so said no at first, but she was persistent.
“She kept messaging him on Twitter and by text and he eventually agreed to meet up.
“Straight away there was chemistry and they went on a number of dates.
“They’re quite alike as neither of them take fame very seriously, though they are both passionate about their careers.”
The brief romance has now ended. And Sheridan’s announcement that she is back on the market was made, unsurprisingly, on Twitter.
At least her rock star fling did not end quite so messily as her previous relationship with 36-year-old soap star Greg Wood.
They began dating while he was in the process of divorcing his wife Catherine, the mother of his three children. The Sun on Sunday later revealed that Greg’s marriage had ended after he had an affair with his co-star Tamara Wall, 35.
All seemed rosy between Sheridan and Greg, who sealed their love back in March by getting matching tattoos.
But in July, after seven months together, she accused him of cheating on her with his ex Tamara and dumped him.
Lorra talent ... Sheridan as Cilla Stuart Wood/ITV
Naturally, this whole sorry saga was played out in front of Sheridan’s 650,000 Twitter followers like some bad soap opera.
Sheridan tweeted: “Just been hurt by an idiot boy again but not gonna lower myself to his standards :) love & light.
“Onwards & upwards! Homeward bound! Can’t wait to see me dogs, loyal as anything :) x.” And with a thinly veiled dig at love rival Tamara, she added: “Let’s give @tammiew a big shout out coz she’s so honest & lovely.”
Then, referencing the characters Greg and Tamara play on the Channel 4 soap, Trevor Royle and Grace Black, she wrote: “Grace and Trevor are real-life cheats, not me.
“She’s the real marriage breakdown. Poor three kids. I’m outta here, and never met or confused them. Bye now.”
Sheridan and Greg first started dating after swapping messages on Twitter and played out their relationship on social media.
She called him a “hottie” and “everything I prayed for”, while he gushed about missing her when she was not around.
So it was inevitable that when they finally came to blows, it would all unravel online for everyone to see.
It is perhaps a stroke of luck for US chat show host James Corden that Sheridan was not a prolific Twitter user when the pair dated in the late Noughties.
Corden, 37, once described Sheridan as “the love of my life”, but their relationship was turbulent. She regularly turned up to work in tears after heated rows with him.
Despite their 2009 split, Corden still featured in one of Sheridan’s most dramatic online meltdowns.
She briefly quit Twitter at the start of the year after her praise of Brit Awards hosts Ant and Dec was construed by some as a dig at her ex, who hosted the music event for four years in a row.
She blasted: “It wasn’t a sly dig at all! I love Ant & Dec and James is a genius! I’m on his sister’s radio station on Sunday. I meant the line up!
“Oh f*** this, bye Twitter. I came on Twitter to talk to fans, now I seem to just get abuse & made up stories. I’m sorry to u lovely supportive lot, u know who u are.”
It’s not just longer relationships that Sheridan has orchestrated via social media.
In November 2014, she had a brief fling with reality star Ricci Guarnaccio, 29, after spotting him in her hotel and private messaging him on Twitter. A source close to Ricci told The Sun: “Ricci and Sheridan were both staying in the Malmaison in Leeds. They had never met, she just saw him in the hotel and followed him on Twitter.
“He followed back and she instantly messaged him to ask what room he was in.
“She got his number on the first night they were together and they texted a bit, but she still chose to mainly message him on Twitter so she could delete everything afterwards.”
Sheridan’s acting talent has made her the nation’s sweetheart and her latest US awards nomination is bound to turn heads in Hollywood.
She just needs to turn Twitter off first.
Additional reporting by EDWARD DYSON and DANIEL SPERLING
‘She needs a crisis buddy’
IT IS unusual for someone in the public eye like Sheridan to reveal such intimate things about their lives, writes relationship expert DR PAM SPURR.
People who do this are highly impulsive, find it hard to contain their emotions and seek immediate relief for their powerful feelings.
Those who over-share online may also need to show they’re in the right.
They want to get their side of the story over. They hate humiliation and want to be in first with a dig.
Anyone who is impulsive online should get a “crisis buddy” to ring when they are tempted to act out online, who can stop them and distract them away from social media.
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