EVERYTHING CHANGES FOR OLDER DADS, SAYS HOWARD

‘IT’S A STRUGGLE WITH KIDS IN MY 50s’

AKE THAT’S Howard Donald is warning men not to leave it too late to become a father after admitting he is struggling to relight his fire. The father-of-four ff h has three of his children at home – his two young sons and his teenage daughter, who has moved in for the first time after being brought up by her mother.

Howard admits he now suffers

‘a lot of guilt for leaving my ex-partners’.

And he warned others starting out late: ‘I think at 52, which is what I am, I’ve really struggled at being a father.’

His youngest children are Bowie, four, and three-year-old Dougie, with his wife Katie Halil.

Howard is also dad to 22-year-old Grace, with ex Victoria Piddington, and Lola, 15, whose mum is Marie-Christine Musswessels.

‘I’ve really taken it physically and mentally, draining for me,’ Howard said. ‘I would advise fathers who already have children that may be in their teenage years... don’t do it.

‘In your 50s, don’t do it. That’s my personal experience. I’ve really struggled with it and I would never advise anyone in their 50s to have young children.’

The Kidz singer certainly has his hands full after Lola, who grew up in Germany with her mum, decided to live with him. Howard says he drowns in the thought of their lost years. ‘I hold a hell of a lot of guilt for leaving my expartners and leaving my child for them to look after,’ he shared. ‘Obviously, I’ve not been one of these fathers that’s said, “Right, I’ve got a new partner, I don’t want anything to do with this now. I don’t want anything to do with that child”.

‘I’ve always been there, I’ve always felt so guilty about it, I’ve always been there for them.’

He revealed on Dave Berry’s Dadpod podcast: ‘My 15-yearold has just decided to come and live in England and now she lives with me. We’ve put her in a school; it happened very quickly. ‘I’m learning again because I’ve never brought her up under the same roof. All of a sudden she comes here at 15, which is the worst age ever, so I’m told. ‘So that’s another thing that throws something else into the works, as well as a four-yearold and three-year-old.’

Lola is in the UK to study for her GCSEs and because she ‘wanted to be with her family’.

Howard added: ‘She wanted to be where her brothers are. Her other sister’s here, in London, and I think it’s really good for her.’

Despite lamenting his shortcomings, he insisted: ‘I’ve always put my kids before Take That, always.’

Need a lot of Patience: Howard has four kids aged from three to 22