Kerry Katona "cried for three days" when she went on holiday without her children.
The 43-year-old star - who was initially married to Westlife singer Brian McFadden from 2002 until 2006 and has Molly, 22, and 21-year-old Lilly-Sue with him and went on to have Heidi, 17, and Max, 15, with second husband Mark Croft as well as DJ, nine, with the late George Kay - is now engaged to fitness instructor Ryan Mahoney and as they jet off for their first romantic break in years, she admitted that she ended up in tears the last time they did so because she "missed" her kids so much.
Writing in her new! magazine column , she said: "Ryan and I have jetted off to Spain for 10 days, just the two of us. I’ll miss the kids so much - although they’ve been FaceTiming me every day, but it’s so lovely to have time alone. Ryan and I have needed that lately. We’re going on a family holiday soon too, and I can’t wait.
"The last time Ryan and I were abroad just to the two of us was before Covid, and I cried for the last three days because I missed the kids so much."
The former Atomic Kitten singer is seven years older than her partner and noted that while she has never been the older one in the relationship, she always felt like the more mature one and wondered why women sometimes "get more backlash" for dating someone younger.
She said: "Until Ryan, I’d never been in a relationship with anyone younger than me - maybe the odd date, but I found them immature, so it’s more about the person rather than a number. Sometimes I think women get more backlash than men if they’re dating someone younger. Why is it so different for us?"
