Kerry Katona has a "huge fear" of death.

The former Atomic Kitten singer has been experiencing "really bad" anxiety and she suspects it was partly triggered by attending a funeral, because she's been scared about her life coming to an end ever since her third husband George Kay died from an overdose in 2019, four years after they had split.

She wrote in her column for new! magazine: "Last week I mentioned that my anxiety was really bad – I think it’s linked to being perimenopausal – but thankfully I’m starting to feel like myself again. It was a struggle though.

"The thing with anxiety is that you never know when it’ll hit you. I’ve noticed there are a few triggers for me though and last week I attended a funeral.

"I’ve had a huge fear of death ever since my ex-husband George passed away and I think that had something to do with it. At one point I could feel my throat closing up."

The 43-year-old star - who has Molly, 22, and Lilly, 21, with first husband Brian McFadden, Heidi, 17, and 15-year-old Max with second spouse Mark Croft, and nine-year-old DJ with George - praised her fiance Ryan Mahoney for helping her through her struggles.

She added: "But Ryan is a great support to me when I’m feeling anxious like that."

Kerry previously admitted she worries she is "letting down" her children when she's feeling low.

She wrote in her column last week: "I don't like it when I have weeks like this because I worry I'm letting the kids down by not being 100%, which makes it worse. I've also been so busy driving them around, even though I feel like I don't want to leave the house at the moment.

"I've been to the doctors and they suggested therapy, as there are some things I've not worked through, so I should look into that. There's no shame in not being OK and I like to be honest when things are like this, because I think it's important to speak out when you're struggling."