Kerry Katona has made a fresh plea to her ex husband Brian McFadden, admitting she ‘wishes’ the pair could have remained friends following their 2004 split.

Kerry Katona has made a fresh plea to her ex husband Brian McFadden, admitting she ‘wishes’ the pair could have remained friends(Image: Channel 4)

Kerry Katona has admitted how she ‘wishes’ she could have remained friends with ex-husband Brian McFadden following their 2004 break up. The couple dated from 1999 and wed in a stunning Ireland ceremony three years later, before splitting after two years of marriage.

She shares daughters Molly and Lilly-Sue with the Westlife singer, with whom she has famously had a jaded relationship since splitting. Writing in her weekly New! Magazine column, Kerry spoke about Coldplay singer Chris Martin’s recent split from Dakota Johnson and his co-parenting relationship with ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow, comparing it to her own experiences with Brian.

“I was sad to read about Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson’s split, I thought they made a nice couple. It’s amazing how Chris and his ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow have managed to co-parent their kids and stay friends. I take my hat off to anyone who can do that,” began Kerry.

She continued: “I wish Brian and I could have stayed friends. Molly went to watch him at a festival last week and I would have loved to have gone with her. Brian’s fiancée is lovely and they’ve got a gorgeous little one. It would be great to have a better relationship.”

Kerry split from Brian in 2004 after five years together, during which they wed in an Irish ceremony(Image: Getty Images)

Kerry is also a mum to Heidi, 18, and Max, 17, who she shares with second husband Mark Croft, and youngest daughter DJ, ten, who she welcomed with late husband George Kay.

Previously, Kerry has referred to Brian as the ‘only man she’d ever loved’, while Brian – who is now engaged to Danielle Parkinson- told the Independent in 2007 that early on in the relationship he hadn’t thought about whether he wanted a long-term future with Kerry.

He said that life “ran away” with him, saying: “So then, when we had the first baby, bought a house, spent time together and Westlife became the same thing over and over, I woke up one morning and realised, ‘This is not what I want to do with my life, I don’t see myself being with this woman in 20 years, she’s not who I’m meant to be with, we don’t have anything in common’.”

Kerry said in 2019 that the split left her ‘shattered’, writing in her column: “I remember feeling shattered when my first marriage broke down and I was left with two baby daughters. It’s one thing being heartbroken by the loss of a relationship, but add to that the guilt of being a mum and it’s so hard.”

Kerry and Brian share daughters Molly and Lilly-Sue, reuniting for Molly’s 21st birthday two years ago

She added: “[I’ll] never forget the sadness of feeling like I couldn’t make Brian love me enough to keep our family together.” Kerry went on to share in the magazine column at the time that it took her a “long time” to “get over that”.