Kerry Katona reveals ex-husband Brian McFadden tried to stop her doing I’m A Celeb – saying she’d be an ’embarrassment’
KERRY Katona has admitted that her ex-husband Brian McFadden attempted to stop her from appearing on I’m A Celebrity in 2004.
The former Atomic Kitten singer, 42, was crowned Queen of the Jungle during the third series but admitted she faced opposition from the father of her eldest two daughters.
Kerry opened up about how Brian told her she would be an “embarrassment” during a chat on the On a Mission podcast.
She revealed he made reference to the late reality star Jade Goody who had faced comments at the time over her intelligence following her iconic appearance on Big Brother in 2002 which propelled her to become Britain’s first reality TV millionaire.
Kerry said during the interview: “[Brian] wanted me to just be a housewife and be with the kids, but I get bored easily.
“And then when I got offered the jungle…”
The show’s host, then butted in to say: “He didn’t want you to do the jungle!”
Kerry then agreed, adding: “He didn’t want me to do it, and he said, God rest Jade Goody’s soul, he said ‘you’d be the Jade Goody of the jungle’.
“I’d be an embarrassment basically, that’s what he said and I went to Louis Walsh [Brian’s then manager], and Louis convinced him – ‘let her do it, she needs to do this’.”
During the chat, she admitted to not being fully aware of the programme as a result of it airing the first two editions whilst she was living in Brian’s native Ireland and raising their young daughter, Molly and Lilly-Sue.
She said that she did not have ITV whilst living in Ireland and so had only seen one episode of the show during a return visit to England to stay with her mum.
Despite his reservations, Kerry confirmed that Brian flew out to Australia to greet her after her victory.
However, her newfound TV success did not help their love life as she admitted that they headed for a separation soon after.
Kerry admitted: “Six months after that [the jungle], he left me.”
The star confirmed she was working on another TV show in England at the time of the shock end to their union.
She said: “Normally, when me and Brian are away, we’d call each other 17 times a day, but three days had gone by and I kept thinking, ‘why’s he not answering?’.
“He finally phoned me, I said ‘I’ve been dead worried, where have you been,’ – he said, ‘I want a divorce‘.
Kerry told the podcast that she was left shocked by his sudden u-turn but admitted an affair that Brian had, had affected they way she acted in the marriage.
It comes after Kerry branded him a “s*** dad”.
Kerry hit out and said: “He was a s**t dad, he was a s**t dad.
“I think that really bothers the two girls especially now because he is a great dad with Ruby.”