Kerry Katona confessed she burst into tears when she met her celebrity crush, Sir Rod Stewart. The former Atomic Kitten star, 45, has idolised the Maggie May singer for years, and was left utterly star-struck when she first met him face to face back in 2018. The surprising interaction played out in 2002, when they faced off in Soccer Aid.
In a new interview, following her collaboration with Zingo Bingo, the musician confessed that she started crying because she was so nervous to meet him. When asked about her biggest celebrity crushes, she confessed: “Rod Stewart and Colin Farrell.
“I’ve met Colin a few times, and I’ve whiffed that man, held on to him and sniffed every bit of him. I’ve never been starstruck by anyone. The only time I’ve ever cried over who I met was Rod Stewart, when we were playing against him at Soccer Aid. My manager had to pull me aside to let me know personally.
“He said, ‘Kerry, Rod Stewart is playing’. I started crying because I was so scared and nervous. I’ve met him a few times now. We’re on a first-name basis; he knows who I am!”
Since then, their friendship has only blossomed behind the scenes, with the Whole Again hitmaker admitting she once proposed to the dad-of-eight. Speaking on her local radio station, Wire FM, the I’m A Celebrity winner confessed that Rod turned her down because she “had the boobs but not the legs”.
She told listeners back in 2006: “I know Rod has a face like a map of Britain, but I idolise him. I was brought up listening to his music, and when I first met him, I asked him to marry me.”
Although things didn’t work out with Rod, the musician has shared her plans to relocate to Dubai next year with her toyboy boyfriend, Paolo Margaglione, 33, and her children. Kerry, who currently lives in Cheshire, shares daughters Molly, 24, and Lilly-Sue, 22, with her ex-husband Brian McFadden, as well as Heidi, 18, and Max, 17, with Mark Croft. She shared her youngest daughter, Dylan-Jorge, 11, with the late George Kay.
Writing in her column for New! magazine, she explained: “I can see why so many celebrities move to Dubai. It’s definitely somewhere I’d consider moving to. It’s safe, clean, it’s lovely, everyone looks after each other – in fact, I could probably see myself living there this time next year. And my children would come with me.”
They aren't the only celebs thinking of swapping the UK for sunnier climates. Rod Stewart's wife, Penny Lancaster, has hinted she plans to quit the UK after making an admission about their relationship. On the LNER Routes podcast, the Loose Women star revealed that an African nation has her "heart and soul" and jokes to sons Alastair, 19, and Aiden, 14, that she is "going to end up there."
She told listeners: "Tanzinia, that's one place that really ... my heart and soul is there. I said to the boys when we got to take them there the second time round, 'If you ever want to know where mum is going to end up, this is the place."
