Kerry: “My children are my greatest achievement – but I won’t be having any more”
The mum of five says nothing compares to the highs of motherhood and she’ll never regret her failed relationships
She’s achieved a lot in life, including topping the charts with girlband Atomic Kitten, winning I’m A Celeb! and overcoming drug addiction. But looking back over her 37 years, Kerry Katona says her five kids are her biggest triumph.
She says, “My proudest moments are when people meet my children and they say, ‘They’re a credit to you.’ They are what I’ve got to show for myself. Every single day I can look at them and know I’ve brought them up, and that makes me so happy. They’re my legacy.
FEELING PROUD
She adds, “I was hard on myself for so long, but knowing how well my kids have turned out, I think I should be proud of myself.” Since rising to fame as a teenager in the late ’90s, Kerry has become a household name. She’s hit the headlines for her misfortunes as well as her successes – most notably for battling an addiction to cocaine and having three failed marriages to Brian Mcfadden, Mark Croft and ex-convict George Kay. She’s also had a strained relationship with her own mum, Sue, although they are now closer than ever.
But Kerry – who shares Molly, 16, and Lilly-sue, 15, with Brian; Heidi, ten, and Max, nine, with Mark; and Dylan-jorge, three, with George – admits she doesn’t regret any of the mishaps in her past, because she’s got her five children to show for it.
She explains, “I wouldn’t change anything about my relationships because I’ve got my kids. I’ve been open and honest with them about my past – my drugs and my problems – and they never witnessed any of that. I do feel bad I’ve been married three times – but the kids all know individually how they feel about their own fathers.
“They have me – I’m their mum and their dad. I’ve had some terrible relationships,
‘I’ve been honest with my kids about my past’
but at the end of the day, they gave me my kids.”
Since splitting with George last summer, single Kerry has undergone an image overhaul. She’s lost 3st, shrinking from a size 14 to a size 8 through a combination of a strict exercise regime and weight-loss injections.
LIFE PURPOSE
But despite her new look, Kerry admits she isn’t interested in attracting any men into her life and says her children and two best friends, Real Housewives Of Cheshire star Ampika Pickston and Mel B’s sister Danielle Brown, are all she needs.
“Being a mum is everything to me. First and foremost it’s my purpose in life. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when it’s tough – but it’s my entire life. I go home at night and my evenings revolve around them – I get home, make their tea, get them into bed and I’m in bed by 8pm myself most nights.
“I don’t want to welcome just any old man into our lives. I’m happy being in a relationship with me, my children and my two best mates, Ampika and Danielle – that’s all I need,” she says.
And looking to the future, Kerry says that, while her kids inspire her to work hard and she loves being a mum, she definitely won’t be having any more.
“My goal in 2018 is to work hard on my career – I owe it to my children to give them a stable future. But five is definitely enough for me! We’ve got our family now, I won’t be having any more kids. I don’t want to give up my new body, either!”