Kerry Katona says the reaction to her joke April Fool's pregnancy announcement 'broke' her as she said sorry to anyone she offended.
Former Atomic Kitten star Kerry posted a picture of an ultrasound on Instagram and got tongues wagging.
Before deleting her post, she had edited the caption and said 'bloody knew you lot wouldn't bloody believe me.'
She was slammed widely online but has now spoken about the fall-out for the first time directly.
Saying she was sent some horrible messages on the back of it, Kerry addressed the annoyance in her OK! Magazine column, which she headlined 'so sorry'.
She wrote: "I just want to clear something up and apologise to everyone. I took part in an April Fool’s Day joke where I posted a picture of a baby scan on Instagram to prank (boyfriend) Ryan.
"I then got a lot of backlash for upsetting women who aren’t able to have children, or who have previously suffered miscarriages. I was called such vile things and it broke me down - people assume I haven’t had any struggles with fertility, but I have. I know the heartache. I have had an angel baby.
"The joke was not intentionally cruel. It wasn’t aimed at miscarriages, or families struggling to get pregnant. I was just pranking Ryan. He rang me up and asked me about it, and I said, 'Ryan, you know I’m on my period!."
Kerry added that her mum called her up "shaking" but would the star says she would never intentionally upset anyone.
Fans were furious about the post, with some called her 'insensitive' for the fake ultrasound post.
One follower commented: " Kerry Katona faking a pregnancy, weird and insensitive behaviour."
Another added: "Kerry Katona faking pregnancy for April fools then deleting it is just f***ing weird."
"Kerry katona already showing she’s an insensitive dumb a** with a fake pregnancy announcement," one complained.
According to her spokesman, the star wasn't meant to post the picture to her public account.
The spokesman for Kerry said: "It was an April Fools joke for her fiancé Ryan but she posted it to her public account and not her private one with very close friends by accident."
"Kerry herself cannot have any more children due to medical issues and has openly spoken about this in the past."
The TV star is already a mum to Lilly-Sue, 19, Molly, 20, Heidi, 15, and Dylan-Jorge, seven, and son Max, 13.
Her daughter Lily previously discussed the idea of her mum having another baby after Kerry talked about adoptions.
She spoke to OK! Magazine and was asked about the idea of becoming an older sister again.
When asked what she thought of her mum and fiancé Ryan Mahoney having a baby, she admitted: "Not too keen!"
To read Kerry's latest column, click here.
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