Kerry Katona is supporting her friend Katie Price following her being declared bankrupt and has urged her mate not to "feel too guilty" about her financial state.
Katie, 41, was made bankrupt during a hearing at the Insolvency and Companies Court in London last week after failing to pay back the agreed £12,000-a-month to her creditors.
As her money woes increased, the former glamour model turned to Kerry – who has gone bankrupt twice before – for advice and the ex-Atomic Kitten singer insists Katie now just needs to focus on herself and her five kids and "surround herself with good people who she trusts".
Writing in her New! magazine column, Kerry said: "Looking at my own finances made me think about my pal, Katie Price. She’s just been made bankrupt, but she should take this opportunity to start afresh. My advice would be to surround herself with good people who she trusts and try not to feel too guilty.
"I still feel awful for the people I couldn’t pay due to my own bankruptcy. All my money was stolen from me, so it’s a slightly different situation to blowing £45 million, but hopefully Katie will go easy on herself, as bankruptcy is a truly horrible experience."
Katie’s bankruptcy comes after she was given an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) to pay back what she owed – believed to be around £800,000 – in instalments every month until the whole debt was cleared.
The sexy star’s money saga is set to be documented in her reality TV show ‘My Crazy Life’ in emotional scenes which sees Katie admit she has no choice but to be declared bankrupt and lay much of the blame for the loss of her fortune on her exes, who include former husbands Alex Reid, Peter Andre and Kieran Hayler.
A source said: "It all went wrong when Peter and other people stopped paying her bills and giving Katie things for free.
"Katie was never one to pay anything on time either. She ended up with CCJs [county court judgements] coming out of her ears … She also can no longer be a director of any companies."
Kerry Katona urges bankrupt Katie Price to not ‘feel too guilty’
