Kerry Katona has apparently turned to ex-husband Brian McFadden for advice following her split from current husband George Kay.
The former Atomic Kitten singer and Irish singer Brian tied the knot in 2002 and split in 2006.
Now pals have claimed that the pair have been back in contact and Brian has been “constantly advising and supporting” the star.
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A friend close to the pair told Reveal magazine: “Kerry trusts Brian’s advice more than anyone’s, even though they have had their feuds in the past.
“He does care deeply for her welfare, and he wants to be there for her so their children can see that he still cares.”
They continued: “Brian has been constantly advising and supporting Kerry, because he knows that, when she is in a bad place like this, she needs him more than ever.
“Brian keeps reassuring her things will get better, but she needs to be very strong and cut George out completely.”
It was reported that Kerry and George, who married in 2014, split last month following a string of rows that resulted in George leaving their family home.
A source told The Sun: “Tensions reached breaking point about a month ago and it all came to head when George told Kerry that he was tired of acting as a nanny to her kids.
“He is sick of being stuck at home, while Kerry was able to swan about and do what she pleased.”
Earlier this month it was believed that George had a naked meltdown on a rooftop shouting ‘help me’ which seemed to relate to their recent split.
According to the Daily Star the incident, which went on for two hours, ended in police managing to talk George down.
A source told the newspaper: “He was just lying there stark naked screaming about something. Most of it was pretty incoherent but every now and then he screamed, ‘help me’.
“He shouted something about someone trying to shoot him. There were a group of people and police standing in the garden trying to reason with him.”
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Merseyside Police released a statement saying: “Officers were called at 4.05pm to reports a man was on the roof of a property.”
And now friends have said that Kerry, 36, wants to “cut George out of her life completely this time around”.
The pal said: “She was initially trying to keep lines of communication with him open, so they could at least stay good friends and support each other, but now she has gone to the other extreme and ‘life blocked’ him, which she describes as ‘making sure he can’t text, email or message me in any other way’.”
Meanwhile the mum-of-five has been putting on a brave face to her fans and recently jetted off on holiday with her brood.
But friends claim the star is struggling to cope.
They told the mag: “It’s so hard for her. She’s not sleeping at all, and all the stress means she’s only eating one meal a day at the minute.
“For someone who loves their food, like Kerry, that’s a big thing.”