As Kerry Katona arrives to our photo shoot, she’s brimming with energy and confidence. In fact, in-between striking a pose in her bikini, she prompts us to feel her toned stomach. ‘Go on, don’t be shy love, give us your hand,’ she says with her trademark northern accent, ‘Can you feel that? I’ve never had such rock-hard abs in my life!’ The 44-year-old star is justifiably proud of her body after going on a health-kick, and has lost an impressive two stone over the last six months.
But while she’s spent most of December in back-to-back pantomime shows performing alongside pal Katie Price and navigating a split from her ex of six years, Ryan Mahoney, the former pop star admits she didn’t quite realise how much weight she had lost.
‘It’s been so full-on, I had no idea how slim I was until I put on my size 12 jeans at the start of the year. They were so loose, I thought, “Bloody hell, even my pants are falling off me!” I’ve gone down to a size 6 and I’m just over 8 stone 7lbs. I’m slimmer now than I was in Atomic Kitten. I’m getting there emotionally, but physically this is the best shape I’ve ever been in!’
Speaking about her lifestyle changes, Kerry, who is mum to Mollie, 23, Lily Sue, 22, Heidi, 18, Max, 16, and DJ, 10, adds, ‘I’m 45 this year, and I try to be the best version of myself every day. I don’t drink or do drugs, and I take CBD oil regularly. My only vice is that I vape. I get up at 5am every morning, I do yoga, say my gratitude and meditate. I’m a completely different person to who I used to be.
‘People think yoga is just a bit of breathing, but if you do it properly your body hurts all over. I’ve been doing planks and sit-ups to improve my core, and aerobic workouts for cardio from my fitness platform, M-Fit. During panto, we did three shows a day, back-to-back. I kid you not, it was so physically demanding. I was burning so many calories. I start the day with ginger and turmeric shots and try to eat healthily, I take vitamins from Oxford Natural, which have been good for energy. If you’re going to eat a bacon butty with a sh*t load of chips, you’ll feel rubbish – it’s not rocket science!’
And to say Kerry is thrilled with her new figure would be an understatement. ‘I look in the mirror, do a double take and think, “That’s a great picture, I should hang it on the wall”,’ she laughs. ‘I feel blessed that I look and feel as good as I do, especially now peri-menopause is creeping up.’
After a difficult few months, Kerry readily admits stress has had an impact. She split from Ryan following ‘a breach of trust’ in November and likened their split to ‘grieving a death’. She also had to contend with her mum, Sue, being in hospital after doctors found blood clots on her lungs.
Kerry says, ‘Mum nearly dying was a massive wake-up call. She’s a big drinker and bed bound, yet she’s only 20 years older than me. I want to be around in my rocking chair playing with my grandkids… even my great-grandkids. I always joke to the girls, “Come on, kids, get knocked up!”
‘Life throws unexpected things your way and of course it’s the heartbreak diet too. I remember when Brian McFadden and I split, I was a fat cow with GG boobs, and I ended up losing so much weight with stress that I had to have implants because my boobs looked so deflated. They’re just saggy fun bags now!’ she laughs.
And while many celebrities are turning to weight-loss jabs, Kerry insists her figure is all her own work. ‘I’ve been there, done that years ago,’ she says. ‘I’m not on them now, but if I end up putting all the weight back on, I’ll be bang on those injections!’
Meanwhile, Kerry isn’t ready to expand on what happened between her and Ryan, but she resolutely says there’s no going back. She reveals, ‘It’s very complicated because we’re still business partners – we don’t talk, we just email. There’s absolutely no going back, not in a million years, I know my worth. My kids are glad it’s over, the toxicity of our arguments slipped into their lives, which devastated me once they told me. I’ve had the rug pulled out from under me and I’ve had to build myself back up.’
She adds, ‘I knew deep down I’d never marry Ryan; you don’t get engaged for five years without the big day. I was never sure, but I wish him nothing but happiness. I had an amazing six and a half years, and he helped me get in a great financial place, but it wasn’t to be. It’s been heartbreaking because he was the kids’ stepdad, but him coming into our lives was a blessing for him because we are f***ing awesome.’
Though Kerry, who’s previously been married to Brian McFadden, Mark Croft and George Kay, remains hopeful for her fairy tale. ‘Will I be sad on Valentine’s Day? Absolutely not – I married Mark Croft on Valentine’s Day, so I try to forget about it altogether,’ she laughs. ‘I never thought I’d be 44 and single. There are days where I struggle, but I deserve a happy every after. Just because I’m in my forties, doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get another chance at love. It’s too early for me to be thinking about dating, but I’d love to share my life with someone, and I know I’ll get my fairy tale. It’s also nice just to get your leg over!’
But while she’s cracking jokes, Kerry credits pal Katie Price, 46, for helping her smile again. She says, ‘If I didn’t have Katie by my side, honest to God, I’d have been lost. There were times during panto where I was crying before going on stage, or bawling my eyes out on FaceTime, and she calmed me down. I couldn’t wait to get to panto just so I could give her a hug.
‘What’s bizarre about me and Katie is how parallel our lives are. We both started in glamour modelling, married pop stars with big fairy-tale weddings, had two kids, then rushed into other marriages and had another two kids, and we’ve both got five kids in total. We’ve been through bankruptcy and were treated like we’ve got leprosy because of it. We understand hardships and I trust her with my life.’
Kerry labels their friendship as ‘iconic’, admitting the pair are eyeing up joint ventures this year. ‘When we’re going out together, we’ve got the tunes on, make-up everywhere and we’re like two 17-year-olds again. I don’t think we both realise how iconic it is to have Katie and Kerry in the same room, but watch this space. Katie’s in the best place she’s ever been and I’m sick of people knocking her. Just because she has surgery, doesn’t mean she’s a bad person. I don’t give a flying f*** what she has done to her face, though I would like her to put some weight on, but she eats like a horse! Yes, she can be her own worst enemy, but she’s loyal to a fault, unintentionally funny and quite vulnerable, whereas I’m the gobbier one.’
And as she continues to rebuild her life, Kerry admits her weight loss has had another unexpected bonus. ‘OnlyFans is way more fun now,’ she laughs. ‘I went to Marks & Spencer to get re-measured and I bought loads of sexy underwear – I’ve never been a 34D before in my life. The only thing is, when I take my bra off and bend down, my boobs look like an orangutan’s with all the saggy skin! I could trip over my own nipples, so I have to pose in a way that makes them look good.’
She adds, ‘OnlyFans has been a massive saviour for me, and I still don’t see anything wrong with it. Have you seen some of the scenes in Bridgerton where they’re finger blasting each other in the back of the carriage?! It’s soft porn and that’s on national telly! You get A-listers doing sex scenes but when a D-lister like me takes a few photos, all hell breaks loose – there’s so much snobbery involved!’
Meanwhile, despite sharing plans of her facelift this month, Kerry has postponed the procedure until later in the year. ‘The kids were saying, “Mum, you don’t need to have it”,’ she explains. ‘I thought you know what, I’m not looking that bad. I still want it, but only when I have the time to recover. When people criticise me and say I should be a role model, I say, “Listen, sweetheart, I’ve had five kids, I’ll do what I want to my own body.” I’m 44, not 24, and I’m ageing. I’ve got a fatty turkey neck, and I want it gone, I’d love a tighter jaw and neck like the Kardashians!’
And as we wrap up the shoot, Kerry, who is in a reflective mood, shares her most memorable moments from her 28 years in showbiz. ‘The things I’ve done and seen in my life are unimaginable. I was offered £1 million by a magazine to marry Peter Andre, just to shock people. Can you imagine? He’s like a brother! I also remember getting wedding presents from Mariah Carey when I married Brian – she bought us silver frames from Harrods!
‘The statistics of me being alive, considering I’ve come from a foster home, gone on the rob and did drugs from the age of 14 – I shouldn’t be here. It’s all down to Atomic Kitten – the band made me who I am.’ And with her trademark humour, she adds, ‘And let’s be honest, I was only in the band for five minutes!’