Kerry Katona is keeping memories of late ex-husband George Kay alive for their daughter Dylan-Jorge

Kerry has helped her daughter deal with the loss of her dad by telling stories about George and not letting him fade out of her memory.

In an interview with Closer magazine, she revealed: "DJ was hard to win over at first, she was only three when Ryan came into her life and she’d lost her daddy.

"We sit and talk to her about George and tell her stories. She clings to Ryan now and idolises him."

Kerry - who also has daughters Molly, 19, and Lilly-Sue, 18, with first husband Brian McFadden and Heidi, 13, and Max, 12, with second spouse Mark Croft - admits she had a "nervous breakdown" after George's death in July 2019.

She also explained how Ryan was her rock when she needed him the most.

Kerry - who initially split in October 2015 but decided to separate formally and divorce in November 2017 -said: "Ryan held me in his arms. I was having a nervous breakdown and my doctor had to come out.

"I had so many mixed emotions but he was supportive."

Kerry recently admitted she wasn't actually interested in finding love again when she met Ryan because she was focusing on rebuilding herself, but her friend Danielle Brown “forced” her into meeting the personal trainer.

She explained: "After my past relationships, I spent a lot of time learning to love myself. I had to learn to love me before I could get into another relationship.

"I didn’t even want to start seeing anyone again. I only went on a date with Ryan because Danielle forced me to and I fancied a free meal!

"It was a real slow burner for me. I didn’t think I was ready. But I was learning to love myself and, as a result, I found Ryan."

The 40-year-old star doesn’t have any regrets about her past but she’d known she “deserved to be loved”.

She previously said: "If I could tell my younger self anything, it would be that you deserve to be loved.

“I can’t change anything else that I’ve done in the past, and I don’t regret anything, but I would have wanted my younger self to know that I can be loved.

“I’ve struggled with that from childhood. I wanted to be loved so desperately that the lengths I went to for it were wrong. But these things happen, and I’m now on the path I’m supposed to be on.”