How Laila Rouass helped Ronnie O’Sullivan overcome his demons and become the greatest snooker player of all time
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN’S relationship with Laila Rouass may have been one of the keys to the star’s consistent success at the top of the game of snooker.
The Rocket, 48, has had a Hollywood-style career that in more recent years has been calmed by the soap star’s support.
The pair have called it quits on their relationships, some 147 months after first getting together.
And that time has seen Laila, 53, tame Ronnie from a party animal without a proper focus to a family man with his eyes on the prize.
Their relationship began back in 2012 when fate brought them together with the actress house-hunting and stumbling upon Rocket Ronnie’s home in her search.
Once Ronnie heard Laila was looking around his mansion, he contacted the estate agent, a friend of the Footballers’ Wives star, to arrange a date.
Within four months the pair were living together and Ronnie had dropped the knee by the time 2013 rolled around.
The seven time world champion was already a household name thanks to his efforts on the baize, but Laila had absolutely no idea who he was.
Her severe lack of interest in the world of snooker was just one thing that helped bring the Rocket back down to earth.
Laila previously said: “Ronnie called the estate agent, a friend of mine, and asked me out via her.
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“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.”
Ronnie had spent the years prior to his relationship with Laila battling his demons away from the snooker table.
He was known to regularly head on wild nights with Oasis star Liam Gallagher, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and artist pal Damien Hirst.
And by hid mid-20’s he had checked himself into rehab for a month to treat his drug addiction, after admitting that he was having suicidal thoughts.
The immense pressure of being the world’s best snooker player hadn’t helped him either, but sharing that burden with his new partner some years in the future would be one way of managing his load.
Laila previously recalled how Ronnie was changing his ways already when they first met, but explained that her personality helped to ground him.
She said: “When I met him he was changing already. I’ve maybe centred him more.
“I’m a grounded person and Ronnie is so emotional, he wears his heart on his sleeve. I calmed him down in that way.”
While Ronnie has gushed about the support that Laila used to give him during their relationship.
He said: “She’s great. I love her. She’s great company and I love being around her.
“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.”
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Ronnie has long linked his performances on the baize with the ups and down in his diet and exercise regime.
The Rocket he has suffered a lifetime of yo-yoing weight, addiction and mental health struggles, and an often unhealthy relationship with food and fitness.
O’Sullivan ballooned to 16st on vodka and takeaways as a troubled teen, while “puffing like a maniac”.
Then, after turning his life around, he even saw his form decline after doing to TOO MUCH exercise.
Now right back to his best, the seven-time world champion has opened up on his struggles.
It hasn’t been easy for Ronnie in that time, it’s not as though Laila was able to wave a magic wand to make it all go away.
But her support has seen him battle through even more turbulence in recent years with the snooker legend threatening to hang up his cue on more than one occasion.
Telling SunSport just this week that he “hasn’t got long” left playing after an “embarrassing” performance at the English Open.
He said: “I haven’t got long, I’m not going to deny it. I’m not playing well enough, there’s no point in even worrying about it.
“I’ve just accepted it now which is quite a nice place to be really.”
Ronnie continued: “I don’t even care, I’m just here to fulfil my commitments to my sponsors, get away from home, travel.
“If I can get a couple of years out of it that will be great. If I can’t, I can’t.”
Laila has always been the one to help re-track Ronnie when he felt he needed the support and previously spoke of building a “safety net” around him to help him handle his depression and succeed at the table.
She said: “I’m so proud of him and think he’s very capable of handling his depression these days.
“He’s been strong enough to seek help, and brave enough to talk about the problem, and is so positive and upbeat about life.
“I do support him – just as he supports me – and it’s easy to support someone when you know what they’re going through.
“You know what you should and shouldn’t say – it’s about creating a safety net around them.
“He’s under an immense amount of pressure, he’s always a favourite to win which can be hard, and we have to take that on board.”
With Laila’s support Ronnie managed to maintain a consistent level of success.
The star has won 19 RANKING TITLES during their relationship, including four of his seven World Snooker Championships.