Mr Ansell said there was ‘conflict’ between him and the police (Image: BBC)
‘s partner has spoken about a “mortifying” moment when the police were searching for her after she went missing and died in January 2023.
Ms Bulley near the River Wyre in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire.
Her remains were found by a member of the public after a long three-week search.
An inquest determined that the 45-year-old had died due to accidental drowning, but the police were criticised for their handling of the case while speculation and misinformation added to the misery for Ms Bulley’s loved ones.
The police came in for criticism during the search when they told the public that Ms Bulley had “suffered with some significant issues with alcohol which were brought on by her ongoing struggles with the menopause and that these struggles had resurfaced over recent months”.
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Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith led the investigation last year (Image: PA)
Paul Ansell, Ms Bulley’s bereaved partner, has
Speaking to the , he said: “We were in the living room, still working on it and before we knew it they had released it.
“Nikki would be mortified about what has happened and how it came about.
“There was an awful lot of conflict with the police.”
His comments were made in an upcoming documentary called ‘The Search For Nicola Bulley’, airing on BBC1 on October 3.
Detective Superintendent Rebecca Smith, who was in charge of the case, also appeared on the show.
She said Mr Ansell was “key to a lot of people’s theories and we had to negate that”.
Mr Ansell also spoke about the unfounded speculation that was spread about the case throughout the search.
He said: “I was getting direct messages from people that I’ve never met. They don’t know me, they don’t know us, they don’t know Nikki.
The search for Ms Bulley lasted for three weeks (Image: PA)
“They know nothing about us. Just messages like ‘you b******”. “We know what you did’. ‘You know you can’t hide Paul’, that kind of stuff.”
On the impact social media speculation had, he added: “It wasn’t a huge part of our lives. But yeah, when you experience something like this, you realise what a huge monster it can be, I guess.”
Mr Ansell also discussed how difficult it was to be there for his two daughters while the search was still ongoing.
He said: “The nights were the hardest. In the morning the hope would be strong. It used to go dark at like 4pm. It used to get to about 3pm and then I’d start panicking that I knew it would start going dark in an hour. So we had an hour to find her.
“And then obviously I’d have the girls. The first they’d do when they came out of school was run over and say ‘have we found mummy?'”
Ms Bulley’s sister, Louise Cunningham, also hit out at those on social media who made “disgusting allegations” and “vile theories”.
She said: “It doesn’t always have to be something sinister linked to something that happens.
“Sometimes bad things just happen. I just wish it didn’t happen to us. We’re just a normal family. We’ve had a really tough time.”
The family said it was “emotionally draining” to film the documentary, but did it to “ensure she has the legacy she deserves”.
Rachel Lob-levyt, the director of the new documentary, said: “We had a viewing with the family. It was difficult – obviously emotional for them. They feel the documentary really honours their experience, and honours Nikki.
“At the time she went missing, Paul was subject to a really difficult level of scrutiny.
“The idea of putting himself back in the public eye is nerve-racking but ultimately, he thought it the right thing to do.
“The social media sleuths felt entitled to say whatever they wanted. In the past we’d have talked about these things in the pub, whereas now people broadcast it online and everything is accelerated. Opinion takes on similar weight to verified information.”