Kerry bumped into Real Housewives of Cheshire star Ester Dee at the lavish Laguna Beach resort
Kerry Katona was all smiles on holiday to sunny Spain just a few days after she was rushed to hospital over fears she was having a stroke. The former Atomic Kitten fell ill while watching her eldest daughter, Molly, in a new play earlier this week.
Kerry, 45, from Warrington, started to feel unwell midway through the performance, and after the show, she realised she couldn’t smile properly – a major tell-tale sign of a stroke.
The star, who was with her daughter Heidi and her partner at the time, told The Mirror: “As the day went on, I didn’t feel well. I went to the toilet and noticed my face wasn’t right. And Heidi was like, ‘Mum, what’s wrong with your face?’ I started panicking. I discreetly left, went to my hotel and asked to see a doctor. I told the staff, ‘Something’s not right.’”
A doctor wasn’t available for four hours, so the mum-of-five took a taxi to St Thomas’ Hospital. She said: “I got there, and they said, ‘We’re treating this as a stroke,’ so they blue-lit me in an ambulance from St Thomas’ to King’s College Hospital.
“It really, really scared me. I texted all my children and told them I loved them. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
Thankfully, Kerry was well enough to fly out to Marbella to enjoy her planned trip with boyfriend Paolo Margaglione and her blended family.
She bumped into Real Housewives of Cheshire star Ester Dee at the lavish Laguna Beach resort and the pair posed for a photo, proving Kerry is on the mend following her sudden health scare.
On Instagram, the reality star wrote: “Jeez, you come out for a quiet drink at @laguna_beach_estepona and you end up seeing the most loved up couple @kerrykatona7 and her sweetheart @paolomargaglione1.
“I have never realised that Kerry has size 2,5 and she suits wearing my cowboy hat. Love shines high. So nice to be reunited by pure luck. See you soon sexy MamaMia.”
At hospital, Kerry was subjected to various tests, including CT scans, before finally being told what was causing the changes in her speech and face.
Kerry said: “It was a suspected stroke, but luckily that was ruled out after my scans. Instead the CT scans showed there’s a part of my brain that’s broken and isn’t able to send signals to my face due to stress.
“I’ve spoken to Anna Williamson from Celebs Go Dating about it since, and apparently it can also happen when you’re feeling content. It’s like delayed stress hitting you suddenly because you feel at peace.
“Every now and then, I’ll get a shooting pain in my head. And I’m noticing my speech – even though I think I’m saying something properly in my head, it doesn’t sound right out loud.
Kerry can’t pinpoint exactly what stress might have caused the condition, she admitted feeling run down. She said: “I don’t know if it’s because I’m run down from balancing family life, but I don’t have a social life. I don’t go out drinking. I don’t socialise with anybody outside of my circle, which is Paolo and my kids.”
The setback follows a string of health-related problems Kerry’s faced over the past year. In 2025, she suffered two heartbreaking miscarriages after falling pregnant by Paolo. And in January this year, she was hospitalised with severe stomach pain and diagnosed with colitis – a chronic illness that causes inflammation of the rectum and colon.
