Nancy: I lost Sven's baby

Nancy Dell'Olio reveals today how she became pregnant by Sven-Goran Eriksson but lost the baby to a miscarriage. In an interview which sheds new light on the couple's tempestuous on-off relationship, Ms Dell'Olio tells ES magazine that it is still possible they will have children - but says she is too obsessive to be a good mother.

However, the Italian lawyer, 43, who temporarily split from Eriksson after the revelation about his affair with Football Association secretary Faria Alam, appears to rule out the idea they would get married.

"I've been up and down about the idea of children," she says. "Actually, it happened a few years ago but I lost the baby, so it's in God's hands - things are as they are. Maybe it will happen but I'm unsure. I'd be afraid of getting too obsessed. I'm such a possessive person and I fear I'd be that way with a child."

Eriksson has a son, Johan, 24, and a daughter, Lina, 17, by his ex-wife Ann-Christine.

Asked if they would ever marry, Ms Dell'Olio says: "Maybe. When you live with someone it's not so different to being married and, personally, I don't really distinguish between the two. And in this way you know that you make your choice every day so you make a constant effort. I like to keep some mystery and if you're not married, sometimes it's easier to hold on to the passion."

The couple have had well documented fights and Ms Dell'Olio admits she has shouted at the England coach on occasion. "It's been known to happen," she said. "But I can be very cold and silent. And I cry - that's very important."

Despite the couple's stormy love life - Eriksson's affair with Ms Alam followed a well-publicised relationship with Ulrika Jonsson and a fling with TV presenter Jayne Connery - Ms Dell'Olio says she has been happy since getting back together with Eriksson. "I'm quite a turbulent person, so it's always a quest to be quieter. But at the moment, I'm happy. I am."

However, their attempts to find domestic happiness have been tarnished by a mystery attacker who has thrown bricks through the windows of their home on several occasions. The culprit was never caught.

She is also shocked by the level of exposure she has had to endure since moving to England. "We tried to be prepared but we never expected this. It's been quite intense. Everywhere I go people are nice and warm but you feel that you are not free. Nobody can completely understand how, sometimes, it is very disturbing."

Reports during the Faria Alam imbroglio that she has been keeping a diary and is planning to reveal all - including Eriksson's private pronouncements on David Beckham and his alleged affairs - appear to have been exaggerated. "I write things down," she said. "Not a diary as such but I keep notes - emotional things mostly."

Read the full interview in tomorrow's ES magazine