KERRY Katona has bravely opened up on her harrowing childhood and her mum's troubling experiences with her former lovers.
The Atomic Kitten songstress has addressed her rough upbringing with parent Sue – and the horror violent scenarios that came along with it.
Kerry told Paul Carrick Brunson's We Need To Talk podcast of her ups and downs, from being the "product of an affair" to spending her youth with numerous foster families.
She told Married at First Sight expert Paul of her "horrendous" early years and how she visited her mum in a mental institution while living with her dad.
At the time, the 44-year-old told how her mum had found love with a woman, Tina, who she was "on and off" with since Whole Again singer Kerry was aged two.
She told how Sue had been "sectioned and stuff" and E4 star Paul said: "So you saw not only your mother harm herself, but then there was one incident where someone had stabbed her?"
Kerry addressed her mum's relationship and said: "That's just one of them, Paul. There's always fights. I think Tina stabbed me mum.
"There were always fights, like. I mean, 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."
Kerry then told of her "instant fear" of a man called Dave – who she was forced to call dad – and to whom she later took out a restraining order.
He came onto the scene after Tina had left and she admitted she was "terrified" of the man, who she first met when he was drunk.
Kerry tellingly told Paul: "I could tell the kind of man he was going to be."
She estimated she was around aged seven when he came into her life, and she was running the house and doing the shopping while her mum was out .
The I'm A Celeb star explained: This one time I remember I was in bed, my mum had been out, and she came in and she sat next to me and said, 'Dave asked me to marry him.'
"I went, 'Don't do it, mum… He's going to beat you. He's really going to beat you up.'
Kerry Katona's love life timeline
Kerry's first high-profile relationship was with Brian McFadden, who was then a member of the Irish boyband Westlife.
The couple married in 2002 and had two daughters together, Molly and Lilly-Sue, but divorce beckoned just four years later after infidelity claims.
In 2007, Kerry married Mark Croft, a former taxi driver.
Their relationship was tumultuous and marked by financial difficulties and accusations of infidelity.
They had two children together, Heidi and Maxwell, before divorcing in 2011.
Kerry has spoken openly about the difficulties she faced during this period, including struggles with her mental health and substance abuse.
Following this, she entered into a relationship with George Kay, a former professional rugby league player.
They married in 2014 and had a daughter, Dylan-Jorge (DJ). However, their relationship was fraught with issues, including horrifying domestic abuse, and they separated in 2017. Kay died in 2019 after 'biting into a ball of cocaine'.
Kerry later found love again with Ryan Mahoney, a fitness trainer.
The couple became engaged in 2020, and Kerry described Ryan as a stabilising and positive influence in her life.
After increasing speculation late in 2024, Kerry revealed they had split over a "breach in trust" and Ryan had moved out of her home.
"She went, 'Kerry, 16 years, he's never laid a finger on me.' The next night, she came home, black and blue, and she had the side of a shotgun to her head.
"And then we had to go into hiding, 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."
KERRY'S FAMILY
Kerry is still close to her mum Sue despite her chaotic upbringing, but it was this experience that drove her to strive to be the best mum she could to her own brood.
Kerry has five children in total, from her three marriages – a fact that she's come under unnecessary attack for.
As well as daughters Molly, 24, and Lilly, 23, with Bryan McFadden, she also has Heidi, 18, and Max, 17, from her marriage to Mark Croft, and youngest daughter, Dylan-Jorge, 11, with late ex-husband, George Kay, who died in 2019 after an overdose.
Tragically, Kerry later revealed she was a victim of domestic violence within their relationship, with her late ex spitting and even strangling and hitting her while she was pregnant with their daughter.
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