Kerry Katona is 16 years clean after being introduced to drugs by her mum as a teen – and has some well-meaning advice for Freddy Brazier after his rehab admission
Speaking exclusively to OK!, former Atomic Kitten Kerry Katona – who has been drug-free for 16 years – says her own experiences and relationship with her mum have been on her mind a lot lately, because of Freddy Brazier – and she has issued the model, 20, with some stark but well-meaning warnings, given her own past experiences with drugs.
When she read about Freddy allegedly taking drugs with his gran, all these feelings and memories, she admits, came flooding back. “I know he’s admitted he has a problem with smoking. He’s an adult and can make his own choices, but with drugs, it is a very, very slippery slope. I’ve seen it happen”, she said.
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The son of Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody, Freddy hit the headlines when he revealed that he wanted to check into rehab in Spain, after reportedly falling out with his dad and big brother. Freddy, whose Big Brother star mum Jade died of cervical cancer when he was just four, was recently photographed smoking what appeared to be a cannabis joint with his maternal grandmother, Jackiey Budden – a former drug addict.
This came amid rumours he had moved in with his nan in Bermondsey, defying his dad’s legal efforts to keep them apart. But after claiming he wanted to go to rehab, he made a U-turn days later, saying he just needed a “holiday”. Freddy also said, “I want to be happy, be in a healthy relationship and have a healthy relationship with my nana and my father.
Frmer Atomic Kitten Kerry, however, thinks rehab is the right choice: “I commend him for wanting to go to rehab. You can explore your emotions and work out what’s really going on. It’ll open your eyes and be one of the best things you ever do. You’ll meet inspiring, supportive people. I understand that he just wants to be his own person, but relationships are easily broken and hard to repair – and we never know what tomorrow might bring.
“Freddy’s lovely mum Jade was taken way before her time and I’m sure that hurts. My advice would be to treasure his relationship with his dad, who adores him. Life can be tough, but drugs are never the way to deal with difficult emotions. In a split second, you’re given a choice – and that choice can f**k everything up.“
Opening up on her own complicated relationship with her mother, Sue, Kerry confessed: “I love my mum to bits – but it’s complicated. She gave me drugs when I was 14. She was my mum, so I thought it was normal. But that’s a very unhealthy co-dependency.”
Later progressing to cocaine, she recalled sadly: “It was the only friend I had, the only thing that was always there for me,” she admits. “I’ve overdosed twice on cocaine. Once at my mum’s house, then at home in Wilmslow with Mark. I fitted and was frothing at the mouth. When I came to, Mark was screaming, but I felt on another plane. I felt so loved in that experience that I tried immediately to go to that place again, and took a line of cocaine straight away.”
And she has strong advice to Freddy: “I know you love both your nan and your dad to bits. Focus on that love, and get to rehab. It’s not a magic wand, but you can start learning new ways to cope with what life throws at you. Above all, I’d like him to know that there is life beyond drugs.”
Source: Mirror
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