Thalia Heffernan has revealed why she has “no regrets” about splitting from her ex-boyfriend Ryan McShane last year.
The 28-year-old model called time on her relationship with Ryan, 38, last January – after six years together.
In September 2022, Thalia moved to New York to pursue bigger work opportunities, and reluctantly left her then-boyfriend and rescue dogs, Lennie and Charlie, behind.
The couple attempted to make their long-distance relationship work for months, but in the end Thalia decided it was best for them to part ways.
During an exclusive interview with Goss.ie, the Dublin native explained: “I mean, a breakup is never easy, we were together a very long time. And it was just another kind of thing that happened last year that changed my whole life.
“But again, I have no regrets. I never want to have any regrets in my life, and I’m glad that I’m on the path I’m on now.”
Thalia kept her split from Ryan under wraps for months until he made it public last July.
In response to an interview Thalia did with The Sunday Times, in which she praised him for being so supportive of her move to NYC, Ryan announced their breakup on Instagram.
At the time, he wrote: “In response to this article, I wish to set the record straight. Thalia ended the relationship with me in January and returned to New York. Just want to thank my friends and family for all the support given to me and the boys.”
The model remained silent about their split on social media, and while she was “hurt” by the way things played out, Thalia insisted she’ll never be one to air her “dirty laundry”.
“Well, I’m not one to air my dirty laundry… I never want to talk negatively about an ex, and I don’t want to speak about my relationships in the press, it’s something I don’t do,” she said.
“So I kind of avoid it, and I will continue to avoid it, because no matter what happens in the relationship, in any relationship that I’ve been in, I always say that it’s a very personal experience, and I understand in the public eye people feel they have, not a right but people are part of the relationship, but when it comes to a breakup I keep my cards close to my chest out of respect.
“It’s never easy, and there was a couple of things done that were quite hurtful, but for myself, for my sake, and out of respect for the people that I loved at one point in my life, I try and keep things, you know, at home. I don’t like to talk about it too much.”
Thalia also opened up about her current dating life, and whether she would ever consider appearing on Love Island, to which she responded: “Never say never.”
“I’m not going to shut anything down,” she said. “Yeah, I don’t know, I haven’t thought about it I guess. Even though I am single now for the first time, sometimes I forget I’m single because I’ve never been single. And then I’m like ‘Oh, you actually have to actively find someone now, Thalia’.”
“So maybe, I mean, it’s been nearly a year that I’ve been single. I think this is the longest I’ve ever been single. There’s definitely moments that I’m like, it would be kind of nice to find love again, so you never know. I don’t know how to go about it. So maybe that’s the right place? I don’t know.”
The 28-year-old spoke about being single for the first time in years, and navigating the dating world in NYC.
“I’ve been dating, yeah. I mean, it’s funny because I’ve always been in relationships since I was like 15, so my first ever dating experience was in New York,” she told us.
“So that was manic, like dating in New York is exactly what you’d imagine it to be, it’s just a whole different universe…”
“So I kind of got it out of my system over there where now that I’m home, I wouldn’t say I’ve closed off, I guess I’m not dating as much as I was because I’m kind of just happy to be honest, and I’m really loving being at home with my boys and my family.”
“I wanted to introduce this new year with myself, and I’m really happy I’m doing that because I think it’s just been a really big year and a lot has happened, both positively and negatively, and I feel like entering the new year with my dogs in my house with my best friend is the right thing to do. It feels right.”
“Boys, as great as they are, right now I’m not into anything too serious… I’m not shutting anything off, but I’m also… Yeah, I’m dating. We’ll just say that,” she added.
Thalia spoke to Goss.ie as our Spotlight On cover star for January. You can check out her full interview here.
