Kerry Katona: ‘I never understand why men fancy me!’
Tuesday 14 August 2012
Just weeks ago, Kerry Katona was back in the arms of artist Steve Alce, after a brief split in July saw him move out of her home.
Now, in another twist to her roller-coaster love life, Closer can reveal Kerry has ditched him for a second time – and that she hooked up with a sexy male model in London last week.
She was snapped cosying up to Jonny Laidler, 24, on a drunken night out – and from the way he was resting his hand on her thigh, it looked as if Kerry had bagged herself a toyboy.
While Kerry refuses to be drawn on any potential romance – she insists “Jonny’s a lovely lad and we’ve had a real laugh, but he’s 24. I’m 31” – insiders tell Closer that they’ve been enjoying flirting and he’s interested in taking things further.
When told this, Kerry giggles coyly and says: “Bless him! He is a good-looking lad and I’m sure we’ll be pictured together again in the future, but I’m not looking for a relationship.”
Jonny, from Leeds, hit the headlines earlier this year after he dramatically transformed his 20st frame, after a girlfriend dumped him. He shed an incredible 7st and landed a modelling contract with his new physique. Read his story on Closer here!
While his attentions would flatter any woman, Kerry is keen to play them down, insisting: “I like being footloose and fancy free, although I’m not one for one-night stands. Steve was the first man I’d given my number to since [ex husband] Mark! I’m rubbish at all that stuff – a bloke asked for my number in Brighton recently and I went bright red! It’s a confidence issue. I always think, ‘Why the f*** would he fancy me?’ I did it with Steve all the time.”
The couple ended their nine-month relationship only last week, but Kerry reveals the split was on the cards for a while. But she insists they’re still friends and her workload came between them.
She explains: “It just ran its course. It’s no one’s fault. It’s always sad when a relationship ends, but we gave it a second go – it just got harder and harder.
“While he ticks all the boxes – this is going to sound awful – I couldn’t fit him in. I don’t have time! I’ve got a lot on and I’ve just moved, so I’m an hour and a half away from him. With him not driving, it was left down to me – and work and the kids have to come first.
“We went on holiday recently and it was lovely, but I think we both knew it was coming. It’s a shame, but my life is too busy. Having a relationship was becoming a strain and that’s not fair on him. I wish him all the best and any woman would be lucky to have him – I’m sure I’ll be a little jealous though! He’s a great catch.”
Kerry has been notoriously unlucky in love, with marriages to Brian McFadden – father to her daughters, Molly, 10, and Lilly-Sue, nine – and Mark Croft – father to daughter Heidi, five, and four-year-old Maxwell – behind her.
And she admits to Closer that she moves too fast when it comes to relationships. She laughs: “At least I didn’t get engaged or pregnant this time!
“I wasn’t ready when Steve moved in and it went backwards from there. Talking marriage and babies scared me – I’ve already got two failed marriages. I’ve built a wall up after all my issues and I get nervous.
“It’s the longest relationship I’ve had since my ex-husband Mark and an amazing nine months, but I’m not ready to settle down. I just want to have more fun now.”
Kerry is feeling good about life at the moment – she’s performing new music and Atomic Kitten tunes at personal appearances around the country and is shortly heading to the US to star in a reality show with pal David Gest.
She’s feeling confident about her figure too, despite putting on weight. After a tummy tuck in May, she dropped from around 91/2st to 81/2st, but has since regained “about a stone,” thanks to relaxing her healthy eating during holidays with pal Danielle Brown and her break with Steve.
She says: “You know what it’s like on holiday – it’s a shandy with breakfast and sugary strawberry daiquiris all day!”
And despite regaining much of the weight she lost after her operation, Kerry doesn’t regret having the tummy tuck, saying: “I’m happy with where my body is at. The tummy tuck was about getting rid of that extra skin after four kids.
I’d like to get back into exercise and healthy eating in the next few weeks and lose the extra weight, but I’m not overweight or fat – I’m looking good!”
When asked if that’s it for surgery now, she replies: “I’ll be brutally honest – when I first had it for the MTV show [she had a breast reduction and liposuction in 2008], it wasn’t even my idea. They offered it and the main thing I wanted was my implants taken out. I didn’t want the rest, but I thought, ‘I’m not paying for it, so why not? I’d never in a million years pay that kind of money.’”
But would she have more surgery if she was offered it for free? She says: “It depends on my weight. It’s a very traumatic thing to go through and I’ll be honest – I’ve had surgery, I’ve had liposuction, but the best results you can get are through exercise and eating healthily. That’s good for your state of mind, too.”
And, responding to reports she’s lining up bum implants, she adds emphatically: “I am not having more surgery. I read I was having butt implants – my arse is big enough!”
Kerry’s daughters Molly and Lilly-Sue are currently in Ireland seeing her ex Brian’s family, before heading to Italy ahead of his September wedding to Irish reality star Vogue Williams.
While Kerry is pleased the girls are spending time with their dad, her cheery demeanour falters when we ask if she has any contact with him. She says: “Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship, even though we share two children, which is sad.
“I see other divorced parents at PTA meetings together. I’d love him to go to one of their parents’ evenings, or for him and his new wife to come over. It’s not for my sake, it’s for the girls. It makes me angry for them. I never knew my dad.”
But the usual, bubbly Kerry cheekily adds: “I wish him all the luck in the world – and, if it doesn’t work out, I’ve got the number of a great divorce lawyer!”
By Amy Swales
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