Three-times married former Atomic Kitten, Kerry Katona, has emotionally discussed her “unspeakable” North West upbringing in an interview with Paul C. Brunson’s We Need to Talk podcast as she considered how her marriages have stemmed from her long-standing desperation for a father figure.
The Warrington-born former girl band darling revealed how she was raised not knowing who her real father was, only discovering her biological dad after he died.
She also revealed how her mother had a number of short-lived relationships with men she was led to believe were her dad, with at least one who was physically abusive, forcing her and her mum to go into witness protection.
The singer admitted being put in “unspeakable situations,” described going through four sets of foster parents, living in a shelter while her mum battled mental health issues and drug addiction and even being hidden under piles of coats when kids were supposed to leave her local pub at 9pm while her mother and her partners “carried on getting pissed.”
She added: “But that was my normal, Paul. I did not know any different. Do you see what I mean? It took me a long time to realise… that’s why I went for these men, that’s why I wanted a father figure.
“I kept getting married because I was desperate to have a dad.”
Katona is currently dating personal trainer Paolo Magaglione, 33, and has reportedly moved him into her home just two months after they met on Celebs Go Dating.
Prior to this she was in a six and a half year relationship with fiancé Ryan Mahoney before they split at the end of last year. She was reportedly planning to have a child with Ryan before they split.
Katona also has daughters Molly, 22 and Lilly, 20 with ex-husband Brian McFadden, who she was married to from 2002–2006.
She is also mum to Heidi, 17, and Max, 15, with ex husband Mark Croft and eight-year-old DJ from her relationship with the late George Kay.
Elsewhere in the show, Katona elaborated on her mother’s frequent turbulent relationships: “There were always fights,” she explained. “The things I saw my mum do I can’t even repeat because it’s so cruel. So cruel, some of the things I witnessed as a kid.”
Katona ended up in witness protection with her mother as they attempted to flee the abuse of one particularly violent partner.
“We had to go into hiding,” she said. “And that’s when we got put… and I remember, because of who Dave was, and I remember the social services, or whoever it was who came to get us, like witness protection. We had to go into hiding, and me mum had to dye her hair… and we ended up in Manchester in a refuge.”
It was later in life that she was told by a foster parent that Dave was in fact her biological father.
Part one of Kerry Katona on We Need To Talk, a Flight Studio production, is out now on all major platforms. Part two will be released on September 9.
