Kerry Katona has admitted she returned to Celebs Go Dating for a ‘paycheck, exposure and therapy’ – and to ‘be allowed to go on dates and not get criticised’.
The former Atomic Kitten singer and TV personality, 44, appeared on the E4 reality programme, which sees stars date members of the public, in 2019.
But she has made a comeback for series 14, set for release later this year, alongside The Chase’s Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett, 59, and S Club 7‘s Jon Lee, 43.
They will be joined on the programme by Love Islander Olivia Hawkins, 30, Too Hot To Handle‘s Louis Russell, 24, Celebrity Big Brother star Donna Preston, 39, and Made In Chelsea‘s Sam Prince, 28.
Kerry told Daily Mail why she has come back for more advice from the agency experts, Paul Carrick Brunson, Anna Williamson and Dr Tara Suwinyattichaiporn.
The TV star said: ‘Honestly, I wanted a paycheck, exposure and I wanted the therapy.
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Kerry Katona has admitted she returned to Celebs Go Dating for a ‘paycheck, exposure and therapy’ – and to ‘be allowed to go on dates and not get criticised’
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The former Atomic Kitten singer and TV personality, 44, appeared on the E4 reality programme, which sees stars date members of the public, in 2019.
‘And I wanted to be allowed to go on dates and not get criticised for going on dates because I don’t date, I don’t go out. If I didn’t do the show, I would not go out.
‘Just to go out and have that experience of going out and going on dates and think, “Oh, this is what you do, that’s it”. And paycheck, exposure, therapy.’
She confessed what made her feel she needed advice: ‘All three of my marriages. Three divorces. I’m a widow.’
Kerry married Westlife singer Brian McFadden in 2002 and they had two daughters before divorcing in 2004.
She started dating taxi driver Mark Croft in 2005, marrying him in 2007 before they had two children. They divorced in 2011.
The star then married former rugby league player George Kay in 2014 and they also had a child. He died in 2019 from an overdose.
Kerry spoke to Daily Mail alongside quizzer and fellow Celebs contestant Mark, who similarly admitted: ‘There’s been so much speculation about my dating life, I thought, “Well, if that happens, I might at least as well get paid for it”.’
He announced his break-up from his ex, TV presenter Hayley Palmer, 43, in May last year, just days after their one-year anniversary.
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Kerry married Westlife singer Brian McFadden in 2002 and they had two daughters before divorcing in 2004 (pictured)
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The star started dating taxi driver Mark Croft in 2005, marrying him in 2007 before they had two children, and they divorced in 2011
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Kerry married former rugby league player George Kay in 2014 and they also had a child. He died in 2019 from an overdose.
She later spoke out against him, claiming she had been left needing counselling for ‘betrayal trauma’ after being dumped in a three-minute phone call.
Before this, Mark separated from his wife of seven years – and second cousin – Katie in 2020, who is 27 years his junior and mother to his son Lawrence, seven.
While the stars move their focus to dating, a lot is happening around them in the world of TV, especially at ITV, which produces Mark’s show The Chase.
It was announced in May that from January, both Loose Women and Lorraine will air only 30 weeks per year, as opposed to their current year-round schedules.
Lorraine’s run time was also slashed from an hour to 30 minutes.
ITV will also axe more than 220 jobs – nearly half its daytime TV staff, who also work on Good Morning Britain and This Morning.
Mark commented: ‘We’re really lucky because The Chase is family viewing and that’s one of our big strengths and ITV know we’re one of those shows the whole family watch.
‘And the number of people they hear, they watch The Chase before, during or after tea as a family and that’s our big strength and we’re really proud of that.’
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Mark said of taking part in Celebs Go Dating: ‘There’s been so much speculation about my dating life, I thought, “Well, if that happens, I might at least as well get paid for it”‘
But aside from this, Kerry said the wider landscape of TV watching is changing: ‘Everyone’s streaming, everyone’s Netflix-ing, I think that’s where the problem is with all that one.’
Despite her upcoming appearance on Celebs Go Dating, she added: ‘I honestly can’t remember the last time I actually watched mainstream TV.
‘First, because I travel, I live out of a suitcase, but I don’t think it’s a case of the shows are no good, I think it’s a change of direction.’
Kerry continued: ‘I’m that last generation of eighties and nineties kids where we had four channels, we come together as a family, you wanted to watch something, we’d all watch it together.’
But now with her children: ‘They have tablets, phones, social media, they’ve got YouTube, you’ve got Netflix, you’ve got all kinds of things and they all go to their rooms.
‘For me to get my kids to come and watch a TV or even a film together is difficult.
‘So, I think what the thing is with Loose Women, it’s not that the show’s s***, it’s a generational thing.’
Kerry also told Daily Mail how her presence on X-rated subscription site OnlyFans, which she joined in 2020, affects her dating life on Celebs Go Dating.
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Kerry also told Daily Mail how her presence on X-rated subscription site OnlyFans, which she joined in 2020, affects her dating life on Celebs Go Dating.
‘Not at all’, she said: ‘Being in [lads mags] Zoo magazine, FHM, Nuts, I just transferred…
‘It’s all going so it’s all transferred to digital now. That’s all I’ve done and it’s over 18.’
She added: ‘You watch Bridgerton, they’re f***ing in the back of the carriage.
‘”Oh, let’s give them an award darling, they’re amazing”. And because I get my t**s out on OnlyFans…
‘I’m not doing anything that I’ve not done for the magazines. It’s just, everything is digital, I’ve been doing it for five years now – it’s made me a multimillionaire.
‘It’s not rubbed in anybody else’s face, you don’t go round seeing it anywhere. If you want to see it, you subscribe it.’
Her comments came despite her previous admission her five children have had a ‘tough time’ due to her use of the site.
Kerry shares daughters Molly, 23, and Lilly-Sue, 21, with her first husband, Westlife star Brian McFadden, and has Heidi, 17, and Max, 16, from her marriage to Mark Croft.
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Kerry pictured with her children Molly, 23, and Lilly-Sue, 21, Heidi, 17, and Max, 16, and Dylan-Jorge, 10
She shares her youngest daughter, Dylan-Jorge, 10, with her late ex-husband, George Kay, who died aged 39 in 2019 following an overdose.
Speaking to New magazine, Kerry said: ‘All of my children have had a tough time, but Max perhaps a bit more than the others because of who I am.
‘I do feel guilty that my kids get stick, but I wouldn’t stop doing OnlyFans.
‘I was famous before I started it and OnlyFans is just one of the many jobs I do – and I do it for my kids.
‘They have everything they could ever want and it pays for this lifestyle. All I can do is make sure my kids know how much I love them – and they do.’
Kerry also spoke out with Daily Mail on her recent two-stone weight loss.
She said matter-of-factly: ‘If I didn’t put weight on, lose it, I wouldn’t get half a career.
‘If I didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t have a career. If I didn’t get married and divorced, I wouldn’t have a career…
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Kerry also spoke out with Daily Mail on her recent two-stone weight loss, saying: ‘I’m five foot two, I’m a size three shoe, I’m naturally a size six to eight. It’s only when I’m unhappy I put weight on or I’ve just had a baby, people forget these things’
‘I’m five foot two, I’m a size three shoe, I’m naturally a size six to eight. It’s only when I’m unhappy I put weight on or I’ve just had a baby, people forget these things.
‘They forget I’ve had five children, it takes a lot of time to lose weight. And then you get happy, you get comfortable and you put the weight on.
‘But for me, it’’ a mindset and it starts in your head. I could weigh 20 stone – because I’m happy in my head, that’s all that f***ing matters.
‘Everything else falls into place after that. You could be a size six, six pack abs, pert chest and you could be depressed as f***.’
Kerry also pointed out her weight loss came from heartbreak.
The star was left devastated when she split from her fiance Ryan Mahoney in November after six years together.
‘Silver lining, get in a relationship, get f***ed over, you lose s*** loads of weight, you trip over your nipples, it’s brilliant’, she said.
Speaking with The Chase’s Mark, she teased of Celebs Go Dating: ‘I think we both got a really good outcome.’
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Mark separated from his wife of seven years – and second cousin – Katie in 2020, who is 27 years his junior and mother to his son Lawrence, seven
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Mark announced his break-up from his ex, TV presenter Hayley Palmer, 43, in May last year, just days after their one-year anniversary
Mark admitted: ‘They did a wonderful job for me.’
It was revealed early last month Kerry had found love with online fitness coach Paolo Margaglione on the show.
But in photos obtained by The Sun last month, Kerry and Paolo were seen holding hands and kissing as they made their first public outing together.
And the father-of-two, at age 33, is reportedly 11 years her junior, a source told the publication: ‘Kerry has bagged herself another toyboy – Paolo is 33 and Kerry is 44, but neither of them are bothered by the age gap.
‘Kerry looks better than most women half her age at the moment, and is young at heart.
‘Paolo thinks she’s super sexy and has told all his mates that he is the lucky one. Meanwhile Kerry loves that she has a younger man again.’
It came after Kerry shared a heartfelt post about finding love again ahead of her stint on Celebs Go Dating.
Taking to Instagram, she shared a post which featured an optimistic voice over that read: ‘One day, someone’s going to come into your life who can’t get enough of you.
‘Someone who wakes up every day just excited to hear what you have to say and see your face.
‘Someone who will make time in their busy schedule for you because you matter to them.
‘Someone who will treat you with the love and tenderness and respect that you always deserved.
‘Someday, someone is going to come into your life who’s going to make every heartbreak and disappointment and tear before them make sense.
‘Because if those things hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t be the person you are today that led you to the moment of meeting them.’
Celebs Go Dating is available to watch on E4 and to stream on Channel 4.
