Kerry Katona reflected on her turbulent love life as she took a swipe at her ex-husband Brian McFadden before revealing her abusive late husband George Kay was the love of her life.
The Atomic Kitten star, 43, also admitted to Abbey Clancy on her podcast Exhibit A that as a result of past abusive relationships, her children are ‘so f****d up’.
Kerry shares Molly, 22, Lilly-Sue, 20, with first husband Brian; Heidi, 16, and Max, 15, with second spouse Mark Croft; and Dylan Jorge, nine, with late third husband George – who died in 2019 from an accidental cocaine overdose.
Speaking to the scouse WAG, Kerry took a deep dive into her past experiences and revealed all about her children, their fathers and all the trauma involved.
As Abbey took the opportunity to applaud Kerry about her time on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, the singing star took the opportunity to take a dig at Westlife star Brian, who she was married to from 2002 to 2004.
Kerry Katona reflected on her turbulent love life as she took a swipe at her ex-husband Brian McFadden (pictured in 2001)
The Atomic Kitten star, 43, said that her children are now ‘so f****d up because of all these daddy issues’ (pictured with last husband George Kay in 2013)
Abbey observed: ‘What would scare a normal person is clearly a walk in the park for you after what you have been through so far.’
Kerry then quipped: ‘Yeah eating bugs, I’ve had worse things in my mouth, like I said, I was married to Brian McFadden’ before she burst into laughter.
And despite Brian being her first marriage, Kerry told Abbey that the love of life was in fact George despite him ‘beating s**t out of her’.
She said: ‘When I met George he just out for kidnapping and torture and I thought ”oh, I will have a bit of you”.’
‘I would say George was probably the love of my life not Brian’, she added.
‘But I don’t know if that was because he was so controlling. I mean he beat s**t out of me.’
In shock, Abbey explained that she didn’t know how Kerry could say ‘love of my life and beat me up in the same sentence’.
Kerry explained: ‘Because it was a very controlling thing that it still something that I am trying to get used to. You get so manipulated, what is it Stockholm Syndrome? You get so manipulated that they pull you in.
‘When I got a good hiding, I would apologise, I would be on my hands and knees saying ”I’m so sorry”.’
George died aged 39, after eating ‘a quantity of cocaine’ at a Holiday Inn hotel in Runcorn, Cheshire on July 6, 2019. They were estranged at the time.
Kerry shares Molly, 22, Lilly-Sue, 20, with first husband Brian, Heidi, 16, and Max, 15, with second spouse Mark Croft and Dylan Jorge, nine, with late third husband George
Speaking to the scouse WAG, Kerry took a deep dive into her past experiences and revealed all about her children, their fathers and all the trauma involved
Not naming Brian as the lover of her life may not come as a surprise because the star recently claimed their marriage was ‘all fake and phoney’.
In an interview with The Mirror she said: ‘Obviously first marriage I thought it would last forever, I just went along with it.
‘It was just fake, it wasn’t real, it wasn’t meant to be – it wasn’t what I wanted, it was all fake and phoney.’
Since Kerry’s daughters are now adults, she revealed that there isn’t much need to see Brian anymore.
Kerry added: ‘Not seen him since [Molly’s 21st birthday] because the girls are grown up now, we’ve got no reason to talk.’
She added that her children have closer relationships with her new partner, fiancé Ryan Mahoney, claiming: ‘Not that we really talked, we never really had that kind of close relationship, they’ll ring Ryan before they ring Brian. If they need money, they ring Ryan.’
‘That’s just how it is, he’s got his own little family now, Ryan pays for Molly’s car insurance. Molly and Ryan have such a great relationship, it’s funny when they’re together.’
Despite Brian being her first marriage, Kerry told Abbey that the love of life was in fact George despite him ‘beating s**t out of her’
But despite her children having such a positive and healthy relationship with Ryan, Kerry did admit that her children are ‘so f****d up because of all these daddy issues’.
Recalling the moment she was told about George’s death, she said: ‘All my kids are so f****d up because they all have these daddy issues and I know how that feels and I blame myself.’
Kerry started to tear up in the interview as she recalled the ‘anger’ she felt when George ‘left his little girl.’
She explained that she felt George was ‘not meant for this world’ and he had so many issues that he could not get back to normality for his daughter and so she stopped him seeing DJ for their safety.
Kerry’s heartbreaking interview comes just days after she revealed she was forced to cancel her Vegas wedding to fiancé Ryan because her children wanted to be present.
She joked that the kids had already seen her walk down the aisle a few times, so she could sit this one out.
She told OK!: ‘Ryan and I were looking to go to Vegas to finally get married but Molly and Lilly said, “Don’t you dare do that without us”.
‘I told them they’d already been at too many of my weddings! That put those plans on the back burner’.
Kerry’s heartbreaking interview comes just days after she revealed she was forced to cancel her Vegas wedding to fiancé Ryan because her children wanted to be present
Last year Kerry, who has been engaged to Ryan since 2022, admitted there are times she changes her mind about tying the knot because her track record is ‘abysmal’.
She told GB news: ‘I was married at age 21 as everyone knows, and then I rushed into another marriage.
‘My third marriage, my husband passed away, so I’m actually a widow. But I’ve been with Ryan now for five years and I am an old romantic, I believe in that happily ever after.
‘Just because it didn’t work out the first time, or the second, or the third time, does that mean I’ve got to be on my own for the rest of my life? No.’
Kerry also said Ryan plans to adopt her youngest child, DJ [Dylan Jorge] who was fathered by her late husband George Kay.
She said: ‘I have five children, I’ve got three children at home so I also think about security as well.
‘DJ, my youngest, she’s only ever known Ryan. Her dad died when she was only five, she’s only ever known Ryan.
‘So we’re going to go down the adoption route as well with DJ. But also, if anything was to happen to me, I want to make sure that security is there for my children to remain with Ryan and by being married, that all helps.
Kerry was also married to Mark Croft from 2007 to 2011 and both battled drug addiction with Kerry even considering suicide during the relationship (pictured 2008)
The ex Atomic Kitten star, who’s been married three times, joked that the kids had already seen her walk down the aisle a few times, so could sit this one out
‘But saying that, some days I really want to marry him and then some days I really really don’t!
‘So we haven’t got married just yet because at the minute I really, really don’t.’
‘I think I’m scared. I’m actually scared. The thought of walking down the aisle. I get really scared because my track record has been abysmal.
‘When I first got married my first husband was 21 and I just wanted it to last forever. I didn’t want to be rich and famous, I always wanted to be a mummy and a wife.
‘We all want that happily ever after. And I still want that happily ever after, but I am a little bit scared.’
Kerry continued: ‘I tried everything in my marriage, I really did. My third husband, you know, I was in a really abusive relationship, but I kept going back and going back.
‘I’ve got no regrets from any of them because of all the lessons, but I think having a child was a much bigger deal than getting married.
‘It’s just a massive expense. When I marry Ryan, I’m just going to go to Vegas with Elvis.’
Ryan proposed during a family holiday in Spain, but in a sweet gesture first asked her kids for their mum’s hand in marriage.
Kerry previously praised Ryan for being ‘the most normal relationship she’s ever had and revealed she wanted him to propose.
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline can be called, for free and in confidence, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247
For free and confidential support, connect to a Women’s Aid support worker via their instant messaging service at chat.womensaid.org.uk
Atomic Smitten: Kerry’s Ex Factor
While Kerry Katona has much to celebrate with the joyous news that she’s taking another trip down the aisle, her road to romantic bliss has been quite the rocky one. The Warrington native has already made three trips down the aisle, with each marriage coming to a tumultuous end. And with a handful of relationships in between, it’s fair to say that the star now deserves her shot at happily ever after. Below is a list of the star’s marriages and relationships.
BRIAN McFADDEN (1999-2004)
It was a match made in pop heaven when Kerry and BrianMcFadden met while their respective bands, Atomic Kitten and Westlife, toured together in 1999. Such a whirlwind was their romance that Brian proposed within three months of the pair getting together and they welcomed their daughter Molly in 2001. A lavish celebrity wedding followed in 2002, and a year later, they welcomed their second daughter, Lily-Sue. But, alas, it wasn’t meant to be, as in 2004 the couple announced their separation amid allegations Brian had cheated on Kerry with a lapdancer. Heartbroken Kerry was granted a quickie divorce.
DAN CORSI (2004)
Kerry very briefly got back together with her ex, Dan Corsi, who she first dated in 1998. During their time together, they visited Kerry’s native Warrington and were also seen partying up a storm at London hotspot-of-the-moment Pangaea. Dan boasted about bedding the star, saying: ‘Spending the night with Kerry was all I hoped it would be. I thought she’d find it hard to be with someone else after being with Brian for five years, but it felt natural.’ However, friends reportedly feared that Dan was just cashing in on Kerry’s fame, amid reports he still lived with his ex, while simultaneously texting another former flame. It took just six weeks of rekindled romance before Kerry, feeling that it was too soon after the breakdown of her marriage to embark on another relationship, reportedly dumped Dan over the phone. Surprisingly, her ex-husband Brian publicly shared his opinions on Dan, telling The Mirror at the time: ‘I‘ve known him for a while and I know he’s not the one for her. I don’t want her to get hurt. Despite everything that’s gone on, I just want her to be happy.’
DAVE CUNNINGHAM (2005)
In huge contrast to her glitzy showbiz marriage, Kerry embarked on a romance with her former childhood sweetheart, Dave Cunningham, with the couple announcing their engagement in 2005. However, it wasn’t long before their relationship hit the rocks, with the pair getting into a furious row while holidaying in Spain, amid rumours Dave had been seeing his ex-girlfriend behind her back. A source told People at the time: ‘Kerry is devastated. After everything she has gone through this year she truly believed Dave could be her saviour. Then the shocking revelations about his ex emerged.’
MARK CROFT (2005-2010)
Six weeks after her split, Kerry was swept off her feet by taxi driver Mark Croft. He proposed in 2006 after just six weeks of dating, and they tied the knot on Valentine’s Day 2007. Their marriage produced two children: daughter Heidi and son Maxwell. However, the union came about during a tumultuous time in Kerry’s life, as she watched her fortune (which once peaked at £6.8million) dwindle to the point that she was declared bankrupt. During her marriage, she also made her infamous appearance on ITV’s This Morning, where her slurred speech prompted concern among viewers. She ultimately admitted to a cocaine addiction, as she confessed: ‘I hated my life. I’d lie in bed for three days in a row doing cocaine with Mark. We did coke in our en suite and had a lock on the door. The kids knew if the bathroom door was locked they mustn’t come in.’ After having even considered suicide during their marriage, the couple split in 2010. Mark would later admit that he ‘bled Kerry dry’ during their ill-fated relationship.
LUCIEN LAVISCOUNT (2011)
She also dated Emily In Paris star Lucien Laviscount 12 years ago. Lucien and Kerry met during their time on Celebrity Big Brother in 2011, when he was 19 at the time and she was 31. At the time, Lucien described Kerry as ‘amazing’, adding: ‘When I’m with her, I don’t feel like there’s an age gap at all.’ Back then, Kerry dubbed them ‘friends with benefits’, later admitting they called it quits because “I would never want to take his childhood away from him!” 12 years after their whirlwind romance, Kerry broke her silence on their viral relationship as she branded Lucien ‘charming’ and ‘talented’. She told OK! Magazine recently: ‘Apparently my OK! magazine cover from 2011 with my former Celebrity Big Brother housemate Lucien Laviscount has gone viral on social media! ‘Lucien was very charming and obviously easy on the eye, and it was all just a bit of fun.’
STEVE ALCE (2012)
Kerry famously dated artist Steve Alce back in 2012 and said she was going to marry him just weeks into their relationship. After meeting at a glitzy sports dinner in, he moved into her Cheshire home just a couple of months later. But less than a year later the fast-moving romance was over. She sensationally dumped lover Steve because he was ‘too boring’. The reality star clashed with artist Steve and booted him out of her house branding him ‘too reliable and dull’. A friend told The People: Kerry was smitten at first, she loved that he wasn’t interested in all the celebrity glitz and glamour.’
DAN FODEN (2012)
Kerry couldn’t believe her luck when she bagged a date with hunky Take Me Out contestant Dan Foden that same year, but within weeks their relationship was over. She told a friend back then: ‘I can’t believe I’ve pulled him. He’s dead fit he’s gorgeous. He’s got plenty of money, and the best part is he has no kids and no ex-wife.’ But game show contestant Dan struggled with having his life in the public eye and hinted that their relationship was moving too fast.
GEORGE KAY (2012-2017)
It appeared that a change of fortune was on the cards for Kerry 2012, when she met George Kay, who at the time was working as her driver. Sparks flew between the pair, prompting former rugby player George to pop the question at the top of Blackpool Tower in April 2013. exactly one year later, more joy was brought into their home when Kerry gave birth to their daughter Dylan-Jorge. A trip down the aisle followed in September 2014, and it seemed that Kerry had finally found the elusive One. But trouble entered their relationship just two months after the wedding, when George was hospitalised after showing ‘signs of a stroke’, leaving Kerry struggling to cope. Her struggles in dealing with George’s behaviour led to the couple splitting, though they would eventually get back together and renew their wedding vows. However, things would eventually come to a complete end in 2017, amid accusations of domestic violence on George’s part. But the heartbreak didn’t end there, as in July 2019, George unexpectedly passed away aged 39.
JAMES ENGLISH (2017)
It took just weeks for the star to embark on a new relationship following her spit from George. Showing she was a woman of the times, Kerry went Instagram official with her handsome new boyfriend James English in 2017. And while the numerous posts of herself spending time with the Scottish comedian were shared on social media, the pair soon quietly went their separate ways within just two months. In fact, their split was so quiet that it wasn’t noticed until the star spoke about being a singleton once again.
RYAN MAHONEY (2018 – present)
Kerry met personal trainer Ryan in 2018 after they matched on the dating app Bumble. The pair briefly called it quits following a make-or-break trip to Thailand, but rekindled their romance in 2019.
After spending much of the Covid lockdown together, Ryan proposed to Kerry in 2021, and they’re still going strong with a wedding on the horizon.
