Kerry Katona says Brian McFadden pregnancy got her booted from Atomic Kitten

The former singer rose to fame as a member of the chart-topping band in 1999 when she was just 18 years old, before leaving the group in 2001 after she became pregnant.

After meeting on the Smash Hits tour in 1999, Kerry and the former Westlife welcomed their first child Molly McFadden, who is now 19 years old, in 2001.

They are also parents to 17-year-old Lilly-Sue.

The couple tied the knot during a star-studded ceremony at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the village of Rathreigh, Co. Meath, in January 2002.

Reflecting on her time in Atomic Kitten amid rumours that girl band Little Mix are set to split, Katona has finally shared her thoughts on being replaced by Jenny Frost when she left the pop trio.

In her new! Magazine column, the 41-year-old wrote: “There were no split rumours when we were together because they had already replaced me before I left and I think it was all planned.”

She explained that she didn't want to be in the band anymore “because the focus was always on me and that I was pregnant with one of the guy's from Westlife's baby.”

“I never wanted to be a singer – I just wanted to entertain,” she added.

Kerry reunited with her former bandmates Liz McClarnon and Natasha Hamilton in 2012 before announcing on her social media accounts that she was no longer part of the group in November 2017.

Despite rumours of a feud between her and Hamilton, Kerry never confirmed why she left the group again.

McClarnon and Hamilton continued to perform as a duo from mid-2018 until Jenny Frost re-entered the lineup for a 2021 rerecording of ‘Whole Again’ in support of England at UEFA Euro 2020.