Kerry Katona has gone under the knife once again for nose surgery to repair the damage done through past years of cocaine abuse.
Talking exclusively to us afterwards – and sharing photographs of her nose in the aftermath of the operation – Kerry also revealed that she’s hoping the brutal procedure will deter her kids from using drugs.
“I’m in a lot of pain and I’ve not slept for two days because I’m finding it hard without breathing through my nose,” Kerry admitted. “They took a piece of my rib and built it inside my nose – it’s mad. It’s been agony.”
With the former Atomic Kitten singer, 43, recovering and bandaged up, she explained the pain has been difficult to endure.
“I went home after the surgery but the anaesthesia wore off and I was in agony, so I had to go back in at 1am in my pyjamas,” said Kerry. “I get such anxiety when I see the blood and it really freaks me out not being able to breathe properly. I know it’s worth it though.”
Lifting up her top to show the bandage on her torso where the rib cartilage was removed from, she said, laughing, “I completely forgot that I had the rib taken out. I was just thinking of my nose and I couldn’t see it. It wasn’t until I got home and my ribs started to hurt, I thought, ‘Oh yeah, they took out my rib!’ When I cough, it’s painful.”
The rhinoplasty, which Kerry had done at Pall Mall Medical, was a lengthy procedure to repair a hole in her septum which was caused by drug abuse – despite her being clean for more than a decade. Praising the work of the surgery and wishing she could stay there even longer, Kerry said, “Pall Mall has been amazing with me. It’s so relaxing – especially because I am a moaner! My surgeon, Dr Raghavan, was amazing – I can’t praise him enough. He said if I didn’t get it done, my nose probably would have collapsed over time.”
Kerry has been open about her drug addiction over the years. She first tried amphetamines at the age of 14 and eventually progressed to cocaine. The turning point came in 2010, when she split from ex-husband Mark Croft and vowed to step away from drugs.
“I used drugs as a form of self-harm – it was my version of that,” she said. “Then, when it came to walking away, it wasn’t so much the drugs but the people around me – they were harder to let go of. People like that don’t want to see you rise up, but I have.”
Her addiction haunts Kerry, who still faces accusations of being under the influence to this day.
“There is shame and embarrassment around the whole thing, but doing drugs was a very long time ago for me,” she says. “As much as it is shameful, I think I demonstrate that you can turn your life around and I use that shame as a lesson and as a strength. I’ve rebuilt my life and my nose, ha!
“I get really paranoid that people think I’m still doing it because I have a really sniffly nose and am always sniffling like I have a cold. But then people accuse me of taking drugs and it couldn’t be further from the truth – I don’t even drink alcohol! It frustrates me because I’ve worked so hard to get away from all that.”
Kerry is mum to Molly, 22, Lilly-Sue, 21, Heidi, 17, Max, 16, and DJ, 10, and has been open with her children about her past, including why she has decided to get this surgery.
“I sat with DJ the day before the hospital and I showed her the hole in my nose and explained the whole thing – I was completely honest,” said Kerry. “I told her, ‘Mummy was in a bad way.’ I wanted to tell her what drugs have done to me and not to ever do it. I think it puts them off it and will scare the kids. I want to show my kids what drugs do so they don’t go near them. I pray it has worked.”
While Kerry’s nose job wasn’t for vanity reasons, the surgery has made her nose smaller and she is yet to see what it looks like without the bandages.
“I’m glad I’ve had it done. It’s like a reward and closing the door on that chapter of my life. But I am nervous about seeing my new nose because they have had to make it smaller. Hopefully I like it.”
While the surgery and recovery period is uncomfortable, it hasn’t put Kerry off having more surgery and she also revealed in her column this week (see page 20) that Heidi wants a nose job too. And addressing Kim Kardashian ’s tiny waist at the Met Gala, Kerry said, “I worry for DJ and Heidi’s generation, with all the beauty standards and everyone getting filler so young.”
No stranger to a bit of nip and tuck herself, Kerry had eye lift surgery in January and a corrective tummy operation last year and isn’t stopping there.
“I do really want a lower facelift,” she said. “I want my jaw to be chiselled – I think it will look really good. I’ve started now so I may as well keep going. I wouldn’t get anything else after that though. I think if you want something done then why not, but I wouldn’t go too far.”
Kerry has been getting plenty of advice from pal Katie Price, who has had her fair share of cosmetic procedures. Admitting that the glamour model has been “texting non-stop”, Kerry said, “Katie has been texting with advice. She’s had a nose job but not anything built in like mine, so it’s a bit different.”
Despite the backlash she has faced over the years, Kerry is committed to being open about her experiences with addiction, in the hope of helping others.
“I wish I had someone be this honest with me when I was young, then I might not have had all this shame and my kids might not have had to see all of this,” she said. “No one is real and true in this industry because we’re all scared we’ll get judged. But I have to be honest and to show how much I’ve turned things around for myself – I want to give other people hope that you can do a complete 360. I know I have.”
