KERRY Katona emotionally opened up about finding love in her 40s as she addressed her age-gap relationship with her new man.
The Sun previously revealed how Kerry, 44, has moved on from her recent split from fiance Ryan Mahoney with hunky personal trainer Paolo Margaglione, 33.
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Kerry Katona addressed her age-gap relationship with her new manCredit: Matt Monfredi / Channel 4
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The TV personality signed up to the E4 show for ‘money, publicity and therapy’Credit: Nic Serpell-Rand / Channel 4
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Kerry has moved on with 33-year-old hunky personal trainer Paolo MargaglioneCredit: Instagram
The former Atomic Kitten star said she signed up to the process for “money, publicity and therapy”, before falling head over heels with her new man.
The TV favourite said she is no longer “ashamed” to want to be loved after realising she was “lonely” – saying: “I might have been married before but I was 18 when I met my first husband, get over it!”
Speaking exclusively to The Sun Kerry said: “I was adamant I was not interested, I just wanted the money, the paycheck, a bit of publicity and therapy. I was adamant I was not interested at all [in dating].”
Kerry admitted she was cautious that her dates were only there for fame after they repeatedly used her full name and asked for selfies.
“There was a lot of full naming, lots of dates where there were selfies and ‘Kerry Katona’, it’s just not on, I can’t be f****** asked,” she said.
“I just wasn’t interested, I was in my ‘do it on my own era’.
“I think I had more chance with Jon [Lee] than I did with anybody else.
“I think when you’re on a date and you get called Kerry Katona… let’s be honest I’ve been called worse.
“The schedule was hard and full on. Being put on some s*** dates, that was really challenging, some of the dates I got put on, me and you Jon [Lee], I thought I was on the Undateables at one point.”
The TV favourite said she had her “walls” were high when she first started the process but admitted the agents were able to crack her.
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“I wasn’t interested, I was adamant, my walls were so high, I think you’ll see this journey… I’m going to get emotional,” she said as she fought back tears during our chat.
Opening up about dating younger men on the show, Kerry insisted that age really is just a number – with the star having an 11 year age-gap with her new man Paolo.
Kerry joked: “I feel like 21, so who cares!
“For me it’s energy, it doesn’t matter who you are – an age gap is an age gap, as long as you’re happy and have that connection.
“You could be with same person for the next 10 years and be miserable as anything, it doesn’t matter.”
But with the agents advice, Kerry revealed there was a turning point for her during the process.
She hit back at the stigma of women wanting to find love in their 40s and said she deserves her happily ever after.
“I thought I was happy on my own and they made me realise that I was actually really lonely,” an emotional Kerry told us.
“I’m a very loving person and I think being in this industry and ‘oh here we go again’, I’m 44 does that mean I have to be on my own for the rest of my life, I want to share my life with somebody, I have a lot of love to give.
“I want to come home to somebody for a kiss and a cuddle.
“I might have been married before but I was 18 when I met my first husband, get over it.
“Everyone has seen these lovely relationships, but mines been documented, it doesn’t always work out but god loves a trier.
“It’s okay to not be ashamed to want to be in love and to be with somebody.
“I was actually more bothered about what the public perception would think of me, but I want to share my life with somebody, I want to be with somebody.”
She added: “When you go into something like this, you really have to surrender yourself, you walk in for the deep chats and you think ‘you’ve got this, you’ll be fine’, but they’re so good at what they do, that you really end up thinking ‘I didn’t realise that about myself’ and it’s quite scary and it’s quite surprising.”
It comes after The Sun revealed that Kerry has found love again after meeting her new boyfriend on the show.
A source said: “Kerry has bagged herself another toyboy – Paolo is 33 and Kerry is 44, but neither of them are bothered by the age-gap.
“Kerry looks better than most women half her age at the moment, and is young at heart.
“Paolo thinks she’s super sexy and has told all his mates that he is the lucky one.
“Meanwhile Kerry loves the fact that she has a younger man again.”
The source added: “Paolo’s got an amazing body but he’s also a sweet guy to boot.
“He’s a single dad to two girls, so he has his head screwed on and is responsible.”
Former Atomic Kitten star Kerry signed up to the E4 show in February following her painful break-up with fiancé Ryan Mahoney.
Kerry announced their split in November 2024 and told fans there had been “a breach of trust”.
The couple had been engaged for four years and Kerry had even said that he had “been like a dad” to her five kids – Molly, 21, Lilly-Sue, 20, Heidi, 16, Max, 14, and eight-year-old DJ.”
Sources said Kerry had hoped to “find a new connection” on Celebs Go Dating – and she has done just that.
Last month, she was snapped having a cheeky snog with Paolo outside a hotel.
In their first public outing together, they looked very happy as they hugged and kissed each other in the street.
A source previously told us: “Kerry was heartbroken when she split from Ryan – it’s taken her quite a while to get over what happened.
“But she was approached to do the show and is always up for a new opportunity.
“Bosses know she makes amazing telly and she’s really hoping she finds a proper connection.”
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Kerry said there was a big turning point in her Celebs Go Dating journeyCredit: Matt Monfredi / Channel 4
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The TV favourite said she is no longer ‘ashamed’ to want love after feeling ‘lonely’
