Nicola Bulley’s family have criticised “appalling” speculation over her disappearance, saying people are “threatening to sell stories about her”.
In a statement, the family said: “It has now been three weeks since Nikki went missing. 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.
“The police know the truth about Nikki and now the public need to focus on finding her.
“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.
Politics news – latest: One party likely to benefit most from Nicola Sturgeon’s departure; government will not fight ruling affecting millions of EU citizens
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation could prompt major rethink of indyref2 plans, SNP’s Westminster leader suggests
Brianna Ghey: Teenagers appear in court charged with trans schoolgirl’s murder
“Despite what some media outlets and individuals are suggesting, we are being updated daily and receive support from our family liaison officers.
“Nikki is such a wonderful daughter, sister , partner and mother and is missed dearly – we all need you back in our lives.
“Nikki, we hope you are reading this and know that we love you so much and your girls want a cuddle. We all need you home. You can reach out to us, or you can contact MissingPeople.org.uk. Don’t be scared, we all love you so very much.”