{"id":408540,"date":"2026-03-28T13:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/408540\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T13:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T13:56:09","slug":"natasha-hamilton-on-horror-health-battle-and-bitter-kerry-katona-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/408540\/","title":{"rendered":"Natasha Hamilton on horror health battle and bitter Kerry Katona feud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Atomic Kitten star Natasha Hamilton has opened up on her time in the hit group and the feud she had with bandmate Kerry Katona<\/p>\n

07:00, 28 Mar 2026Updated 09:57, 28 Mar 2026<\/p>\n

\"Natasha<\/p>\n

Natasha Hamilton on horror health battle and bitter Kerry Katona feud(Image: Handout)<\/p>\n

There was a time when girlband Atomic Kitten<\/a> ruled the charts, their glossy smiles plastered across every teenage bedroom wall in Britain. But behind the perfect pop harmonies and their era-defining No.1 hit Whole Again , band member Natasha Hamilton was quietly unravelling.<\/p>\n

The group formed in Liverpool in 1998 and the original line-up featured Natasha, Liz McClarnon and Kerry Katona<\/a>. Jenny Frost later replaced Kerry. When the band announced their split in May 2004, citing their desire to focus on family life and solo projects, it was a turbulent period for Natasha.<\/p>\n

Following the birth of her second son, Harry, in December of that year, she spiralled into postnatal depression. She says, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the way I ever saw my career going. For it to end as bad as it did, it was so sad. And it just left such a horrible feeling in my body that I couldn\u2019t really talk about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Stacey Solomon\u2019s safari park trip was a ‘great family day out\u2019 \u2013 and you can stay overnight for \u00a350 each<\/a>READ MORE: Jack P Shepherd’s pregnant wife Hanni shows off baby bump and drops huge due date hint<\/a>\"Liz<\/p>\n

Liz McClarnon, Natasha Hamilton and Kerry Katona(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

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Now 43 and a proud mum of five, Natasha is newly reborn as an independent solo artist and she\u2019s done pretending. This isn\u2019t the shiny pop princess fans remember \u2013 this is Natasha raw, honest and finally in control. She admits going through early perimenopause has tested her physically and emotionally. \u201cI started taking HRT about 12 months ago. Before that I was falling apart,\u201d she says, bluntly. \u201cI had no confidence. I was almost sabotaging all the hard work I\u2019d been putting into releasing new music as an independent artist. I just lost all confidence in myself. I was indecisive and scared. And I\u2019m like, \u2018This is not me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

She is still on what she calls a \u201cjourney\u201d \u2014 one that began after she became a mum for the fifth time to daughter Kitty in August 2023, when she realised her body was changing in ways she didn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was also diagnosed with Hashimoto\u2019s, an autoimmune condition that attacks the thyroid and causes hypothyroidism, meaning my thyroid was underactive and not producing enough hormones to regulate my metabolism, energy and mood,\u201d she says. \u201cSo the version of Natasha now is not what it was pre-Kitty.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the early months of Kitty\u2019s life, Natasha says she barely recognised herself and describes rolling out of bed in agony. \u201cI\u2019d put my feet on the floor and every bone in my feet, in my shins, everything was… I was in so much pain. Honestly, it was awful.\u201d<\/p>\n

The once-fearless performer suddenly felt frightened of her own mind. \u201cIt\u2019s not because you\u2019re not living the life you want to live, it\u2019s because your brain\u2019s mangled with hormones and I couldn\u2019t remember anything,\u201d she admits. \u201cMy recall was so slow and I couldn\u2019t find the right words. I started to feel insecure and embarrassed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The physical toll was brutal. \u201cAfter I had the baby, I was breastfeeding, but I was ballooning, I was swollen. I didn\u2019t understand what was going on. But when I had a raft of blood tests and discovered I have hypothyroidism, it all started to fall into place, and now I\u2019m on thyroxine for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came the hair loss. \u201cI did mourn my hair,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was my confidence. Brushing in the morning, there were clumps, and my hairline started to recede.\u201d<\/p>\n

She tried supplements, collagen and even microneedle treatment around her hairline. \u201cI\u2019ve only had one and, honestly, I was so impressed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Her lowest moment came six months after Kitty\u2019s birth, when she was shooting a pop video while battling thyroid chaos and perimenopause. She says, \u201cI felt most insecure when I came back to music and the baby must\u2019ve been about six months old. I was bigger than I\u2019d ever been, especially on camera.\u201d<\/p>\n

So she stood in front of the mirror and gave herself a talking-to. \u201cI remember looking in the mirror and saying, \u2018Step into your power. You were a young, thin pop star, but that\u2019s not you now. You\u2019ve just had your fifth kid. You\u2019ve been through life, you\u2019ve had your battles and you look f***ing great. So what if you have cellulite?\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Kerry<\/p>\n

Natasha rose to fame in Atomic Kitten (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cI spent years in an industry that took chunks out of young women, out of me. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I\u2019m not gonna now do that to myself.\u2019 I love myself more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Natasha has juggled motherhood with various work projects, including Celebrity Big Brother<\/a> and several Atomic Kitten reunions. In 2013, the original line-up reunited for the Big Reunion TV special and arena tour. Between 2021 and 2022, Natasha returned with Liz and Jenny to perform and re-record tracks for Euro 2020. And in 2022, they toured the UK and Ireland with Blue.<\/p>\n

However, in October 2024, after more than 25 years with Atomic Kitten, Natasha announced she was leaving the group to focus on her solo career. She\u2019d already started laying the groundwork \u2013 Edge Of Us was released in May 2024, followed by Burning Letters in January 2025 and Numb in January this year, under her own label Morpho Records.<\/p>\n

She admits Numb was born out of years of criticism \u2014 the headlines, the judgment about her relationships and the cruel online jibes, including being branded a \u201c4×4\u201d because she had children with four different men. [She had Josh, now 22, with Fran Cosgrave, Harry, now 20, with Gavin Hatcher, Alfie, now 14, with ex-husband Riad Erraji, and Ella, now 10, with Ritchie Neville from boyband 5ive.]<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do get to a point where you just shut down,\u201d she says. \u201cYou protect yourself by not feeling it. And that\u2019s where Numb came from.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the person who has brought her much joy is her husband Charles Gay. They met in 2016 and got engaged later that year, with Charles proposing during a romantic trip to New York. They married in Italy\u2019s Lake Como in September 2021.<\/p>\n

After being told her chances of having a fifth baby were \u201csuper, super low\u201d, Natasha turned to IVF \u2014 and admits it nearly broke her. \u201cHonestly, I was so poorly on the first round,\u201d she says. \u201cI was quite depressed with the hormones. I said to my husband, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I can put myself through that again.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

They stopped after that one failed round. \u201cI just said, \u2018I don\u2019t want to do that again. It\u2019s not making me feel good,\u2019\u201d Natasha admits. Then came a miracle \u2014 a natural pregnancy<\/a> just months later, after she tracked her cycle using the Natural Cycles app. \u201cWe said to one another, \u2018Wow, this is insane,\u2019\u201d Natasha smiles.<\/p>\n

Although she\u2019s busy with motherhood and launching her solo career, Natasha says she would be open to another Atomic Kitten reunion. But don\u2019t expect the original line-up with Liz, who recently had a baby after years of fertility treatment, and Jenny, who lives in Ibiza. As for Kerry, who recently said she would return \u201cin a heartbeat\u201d\u2013 it isn\u2019t something Natasha would entertain.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish Kerry all the best. That girl has been out there. She\u2019s a hustler. She looks after those kids so well. Fair play to the girl,\u201d Natasha says. \u201cThere\u2019s no big thing, but when it comes to work, that isn\u2019t going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as going solo and launching her own label, Natasha is mentoring new artists. \u201cI\u2019ve done it as an independent artist, backing myself, building a record label. It\u2019s not easy, it\u2019s really hard. But I feel I\u2019m now in a place where I want to give back,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Put simply, she\u2019s finally reclaiming herself. \u201cI haven\u2019t felt sexy in ages. Like, what is sexy? But it\u2019s slowly happening because I\u2019m just finding that confidence in myself, and I\u2019m not putting the pressure on myself to be this sexy pop person. I think being confident is sexy.\u201d She pauses. \u201cI have a fulfilled career and personal life. I\u2019ve got an incredible husband. The kids are great. They\u2019re thriving, so I can\u2019t really ask for more than that.”<\/p>\n

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