Kerry Katona, 43, defends Kym Marsh, 48, against 'sexist' backlash over age gap romance with co-star, 29... and reveals she was also criticised for dating fiancé Ryan Mahoney, 35
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Kerry Katona has stuck up for Kym Marsh after the soap star was criticised for her age gap romance with co-star Samuel Thomas.
The couple, who have a 21-year age gap, met while working on a production of 101 Dalmatians: The Musical, and Kym has had to defend their relationship.
Yet Kerry, 43, who is engaged to personal trainer Ryan Mahoney, 35, has leapt to her defence by pointing out that women get 'more backlash' for choosing a younger partner than men do.
Writing in her New! Magazine column, Keeping Up With Kerry, the singer penned: 'I say good for Kym Marsh who is dating a younger man! She's received some negative comments but Kym needs to ignore the haters.'
Drawing on her own experiences, she added: 'Until Ryan, I'd never been in a relationship with anyone younger than me - maybe the odd date, but I found them immature, so it's more about the person than their age.
Kerry Katona (pictured above) has stuck up for Kym Marsh following her age gap romance with her co-star Samuel Thomas, who is 21 years her junior
Kym and Samuel, 48 and 29, met while working on a production of 101 Dalmatians: The Musical, and she has already had to defend their relationship
Drawing on her own experiences, Kerry added: 'Until Ryan, I'd never been in a relationship with anyone younger than me' (the pair pictured together)
'Sometimes, I think women get more backlash than men if they're dating someone younger. Why is it so different for us?'
Kerry has been engaged to her Ryan since 2022 and when they tie the knot it will be her fourth marriage.
She was previously married to Brian McFadden, 40, Mark Croft, 49, and late ex-husband George Kay. Ryan is 35 and Kerry is 43, making their age gap one of nine years.
Kym, 43, and new boyfriend Samuel, 29, were forced to defend their relationship shortly after they announced their happy news, after cynical Instagram followers savaged the actress for dating someone who is the same age as her son.
Samuel - who she refers to as 'the most amazing man ever' - is the same age as her eldest child, David Cunliffe.
And Instagram followers were quick to make the connection after Kym announced her latest romance by describing Thomas as her 'soulmate.'
Commenting on the post, one unimpressed follower wrote: 'Jesus... Another amazing man.....5 minute wonder... he looks like your son.'
A second added: 'He looks like your son! Kym I like you but keep it private.'
The actress met Thomas while starring in 101 Dalmatians The Musical (pictured at the press night in June)
'Met the most amazing man ever! Sometimes the most unexpected things happen at the most unexpected times. I love you,' she captioned the post
Samuel shared his own loving tribute to his new partner after confirming the relationship on Sunday evening
Kym and new boyfriend Samuel were forced to defend their relationship shortly after they announced their happy news
Both mother-of-three Kym and her new boyfriend responded after followers poked fun at Thomas being 29 - the same age as her eldest child
Writing in her New! Magazine column, Keeping Up With Kerry, the singer penned: 'I say good for Kym Marsh who is dating a younger man!' (pictured above with fiancé Ryan Mahoney)
Responding to the posts, the irate actress - whose third marriage ended just 13-months ago - snapped: 'Do one.'
New boyfriend Thomas - who plays bespectacled Tom in 101 Dalmatians - also weighed in, adding: 'I wonder what’s missing from your life that you need to comment on others. Sad really.'
Hours earlier Kym revealed she's found love with her young co-star, her first serious romance since the collapse of her third marriage little more than a year ago.
'Met the most amazing man ever! Sometimes the most unexpected things happen at the most unexpected times. @samuelthomasuk I love you,' she captioned a photo of herself and Thomas.
Sharing a black and white photo to his own Instagram account, Thomas wrote: 'I didn’t expect you, but here you are. I love you.'
'Ditto. The best things happen unexpectedly. Love you too,' Kym responded.
The actress is a parent to son David, 29, and daughter Emilie, 27, from a former relationship with builder David Cunliffe.
Peter Andre has also stuck up for Kym and her age-gap romance - speaking out about the subject on Lorraine last week.
Peter Andre has also stuck up for Kym and her age-gap romance - speaking out about the subject on Lorraine last week
The singer and TV personality, 51, - whose doctor wife Emily is 34 - said while some of your musical tastes may differ as couple, it's about 'how you are with each other that matters'
The singer and TV personality, 51, - whose doctor wife Emily is 34 - said while some of your musical tastes may differ as couple, it's about 'how you are with each other that matters'.
Talking about his own age gap on the daytime show Peter joked: 'There are little differences - music is one of the things I have noticed.
'You know when they say something like 'ahh this is an old classic' and it's from like 2015. Like what do you mean an old classic?'
'We're thinking seventies and eighties are old classics. But no, it's how you are with each other [that matters].'
Emily shares Amelia, 10, Theo, seven, and their latest addition Arabella, three months, with her husband Peter who she married in 2015.
Writing in his own most recent Planet Pete column in New! Magazine, the star touched on the topic again.
He added: 'It's how they are with each other and how they feel about each other that counts. There's 16 years between Emily and I, but for us, it works. If they're in love, then good for them.'
