KERRY Katona has doubled down on her criticism of ex-husband Brian McFadden’s parenting in a new magazine column.

The former Atomic Kitten star, 43, branded Brian, 43, a “s**t dad” in a recent podcast interview after he left her to raise their two daughters Molly, 22, and Lilly, 20, as a single mum.

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Kerry Katona has stood by her comments that Brian McFadden wasn’t a good dad to their two childrenCredit: Instagram/@thematthaycoxshow

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Brian and Kerry were married for two yearsCredit: Rex Features
While she has no ill feelings towards Brian now and acknowledges he’s a good father to his daughter Ruby with fiancée Danielle Parkinson, she insists he could have done more for his eldest girls.

Writing in OK!, she said: “I really want to clear things up after recent headlines about me calling my ex Brian McFadden a ‘s**t dad’ in a podcast.

“I was with him a million years ago and wish nothing but the best for him and his family. I wasn’t saying it in a bad way or to be vindictive.

“While he wasn’t a good father to Molly and Lilly, he’s now grown up and is an amazing dad to his daughter Ruby.

“I don’t want to cause awkwardness between my girls and their dad and wish him the best.

“I’m true to myself and my story, and he’s part of that. I don’t want to be nasty. I’m on a different journey now.”

Speaking to Ellie McKay on her On A Mission Podcast, Kerry explained how she gained custody of her girls in exchange for forfeiting maintenance payments.

The TV personality explained: “I’m the one who provides for them.

“I didn’t get maintenance money off Brian.

“I signed a piece of paper saying, ‘you can keep your money, give me me kids’.”

She continued: “He didn’t want to get divorced in England because we got married in Ireland.

“We had to legally be separated, if like for six years, before we could get divorced.

“I didn’t want that, if Brian doesn’t love me I want a divorce, so I wanted to get divorced in England, because I was an English citizen.

‘There was a ”Ray Parlour situation” in football where the wife is entitled to half of his money for the rest of his life. So Brian was s******g himself.

“I said look if you don’t want me, you don’t love me, I don’t want your money, just give me half the money from the house that we sell, and I will sign a piece of paper, just give me my kids. I signed the piece of paper, I got the kids, and he f****d off to Australia.”

The host then asked: “But as a dad surely he has got a duty of care?”

Kerry hit out and said: “He was a s**t dad, he was a s**t dad.

“I think that really bothers the two girls especially now because he is a great dad with Ruby.”

Kerry’s admission came after Brian admitted he did miss out on a lot with his two daughters.

The pair met in 1999, and later wed in 2002. Two years after tying the knot, they decided to go their separate ways.

The Irish singer confessed that he regrets “not being there as much for his two eldest children”.

Brian said to Closer Magazine: “I was only a kid myself when I had Molly and Lilly, and I was at the height of my career in Westlife then – we were literally working 365 days a year, and there was no FaceTime so I couldn’t speak to the kids.

“I could only see them when I came home.

“So it was a lot harder and I missed out on a lot of the stuff that I would have loved to have seen with the girls.”

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Kerry shares daughters Molly, 22, and Lilly, 20, with the ex-Westlife singerCredit: Instagram

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Brian now has a good relationship with his eldest daughtersCredit: Social Media Collect