Kerry Katona's boyfriend emotional as he opens up on impact of 'cruel' comments

As the series of Celebs Go Dating draws to a close, the agents decided to invite Kerry Katona, 45, and her new boyfriend Paolo Margaglione, 33, in for a joint session.

Kerry and Paolo met earlier on in the series, and things have gone from strength to strength. The couple have confirmed things are still going strong in the outside world, with the former Atomic Kitten star recently saying she "couldn't be happier".

However, their relationship hasn't come without struggle, and in tonight's episode, the couple explained the tough challenges they'd faced just weeks in. Dating agent Paul C Brunson didn't hold back either, as he wasted no time getting to the difficult questions.

READ MORE: 'Katie Price and Kerry Katona's show was a terrifying experience - but I'd go again'

READ MORE: Kerry Katona has last laugh over men who 'took advantage' of her

Asking what the hardest part of their relationship had been so far, Kerry replied: "For me, it's the press. I've sat him down, I've prepped him. I've said don't reply to anybody, don't comment on anything." However, it seemed Paolo had already had his fair share of 'trolling' just weeks into his new relationship.

Opening up to the agents, he said: "The press put pictures of me topless, I used to be a PT. A lot of the comments were like, 'He's got no brain cells in his head.'

"There was once a time where that would have really impacted me. Now, I don't take that on board because that's their own projection. Because I care about this person a lot and I see a strong future, there's nothing that can be thrown at us right now that we can't discuss, communicate and talk about. That's a big thing."

Kerry then explained how she told Paolo not to read any comments, calling them "empty words." Paolo then confirmed he had "blocked out the noise" as he was "really enjoying" his connection with Kerry.

The couple then gushed over their connection, although Kerry said: "I'm also very aware that it's being played out for everyone to see and watch, and that I don't like."

Paul then asked the couple if they'd discussed marriage to which the former popstar responded: "I'd marry Paolo in a heartbeat, I think he's amazing."

He then later advised the couple to have a discussion about their finances, before the "drama comes" from the press. "Before you even talk about marriage, you need to talk about money," he advised.

Earlier this week, Kerry opened up about her relationship in her weekly New column, writing: "Thank you all so much for the love you’ve been showing me on Celebs Go Dating, watching it back is so strange. As you can see from the show, I met someone really amazing during filming and I honestly couldn’t be happier."

"I feel so lucky and like I completely won. It’s also been amazing watching everyone else’s stories, we all went on such a journey during the show and the experts did an amazing job."

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Threads.