Kerry Katona has detailed how she came to abuse drugs, explaining that her mother was introduced to it at the age of 14.
The former Atomic Kitten star, 43, has spoken in the past about her addiction problems before checking herself into rehab in 2008 and 2010.
But she has now been proudly sober for 15 years and insisted she “can’t be left with any regrets” about moving on.
Kerry appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday and opened up about her dependency on cocaine and how it caused her nose to collapse.
She recently went under the knife to reconstruct her nose after her drug abuse left her with a hole in her nasal septum.
Kerry Katona has detailed how she came to abuse drugs, explaining that her mother was introduced to it at the age of 14.
Kerry appeared on Good Morning Britain on Thursday and opened up about her dependency on cocaine and how it caused her nose to collapse.
She showed the results of the operation to presenters Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley, explaining that it was her mother who first gave her medication as a young teenager.
Speaking about her addiction, she explained: ‘I think cocaine became my crutch, it was my best friend, it gave me the support I needed, when I needed it.
‘I didn’t do it every day, I was more of a binger – once I started I couldn’t stop. And then I could go months without it. It just became my best friend because everyone was really using me.”
She talked about how dependent she was at the time and admitted: ‘At one point I even overdosed, got up again and immediately took another line of cocaine.’
Kerry recalled: ‘I started doing drugs when I was fourteen, before I became famous. My first medicine I took was with my mother.
“I adore my mother and I love my mother, but we’ve had our ups and downs and my mother wasn’t much of a mother. She told me it was sherbet and it was speed, and I thought that was normal!’
She went on to say that she had put her past behind her, saying, “My mother wasn’t doing well. It is what it is, it happened. I can’t sit with regret and hatred.
‘I have to accept the people who are there. My mother is drug free. But for a long time I lived in a pity party, saying “poor me, the world owes me, it’s everyone’s fault but mine”.
She recently went under the knife to reconstruct her nose after her drug abuse left her with a hole in her nasal septum (seen before surgery)
As she showed the results of the operation to presenters Ranvir Singh and Richard Madeley, she explained that it was her mother who first gave her medication as a young teenager.
“But I have to hold my hands up and take responsibility, let it go, otherwise it’s like sitting in a rocking chair back and forth.”
She continued, “Certain people and situations have had a huge impact, but I think if you really want to move on from the lessons you’ve learned, you have to own them. You have to let it go.’
This month, Kerry announced the results of her rhinoplasty after surgeons used a section of her rib to make her nose more stable and correct the support in her nostril.
Before the procedure, she made it clear that she urgently needed surgery as she had “three holes” in her nose due to her past cocaine abuse.
She explained to Richard and Ranvir: ‘I went in for an eye lift and Dr Raghavan told me I have a hole in the middle of my nose and said your nose is collapsing.
‘My nose was always very runny, so I was always sniffing, which I was so ashamed of. I don’t go to the toilet without taking one of my children with me, or I don’t take a handbag with me because I’m so scared.
‘The psychological effect of surgery, especially on your face. I mean, I’m like a flat suit from IKEA, I come with instructions because I’ve done so much. But my nose, I’ve never had anything so dominant done before.’
Kerry shares daughters Molly, 22, and Lilly-Sue, 21, with her first husband, Westlife star Brian McFadden, and has Heidi, 17, and Max, 15, from her marriage to Mark Croft.
This month, Kerry revealed the results of her rhinoplasty, after surgeons used a section of her rib to make her nose more stable and correct the support in her nostril.
While welcoming her youngest daughter, Dylan-Jorge, 10, with her late ex-husband, George Kay, who died in 2019 at the age of 39 after an overdose.
Kerry revealed that she had shown her youngest the hole in her septum prior to the operation, stressing that she wanted her children to know her story from her and not the internet, adding that she had hopefully put them off ever start using drugs themselves.
She said: I have my 10 year old with me and before I had the surgery I showed her the hole in my nose.
“It’s on the cover of all the magazines, she’s that age and her friends’ parents buy these magazines and I’d rather my kids hear it from me and know what I’ve been through.
“You can’t bury children’s heads in the sand and try to protect them. The internet is everywhere and their friends, and hopefully I’ve put them off for life.”
Kerry revealed that she had shown her youngest the hole in her septum prior to the operation, stressing that she wanted her children to know her story from her and not the internet, adding that she had hopefully deterred them from ever to start using drugs themselves.
