Former Atomic Kitten star Natasha Hamilton has spoken candidly about her battle with postnatal depression, perimenopause, and an autoimmune condition, as well as her strained relationship with bandmate Kerry Katona. The 43-year-old singer, now a mother of five, revealed that she has been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for about a year after experiencing debilitating symptoms.
Hamilton described how her health deteriorated after the birth of her fifth child, daughter Kitty, in August 2023. She was diagnosed with Hashimoto's disease, an autoimmune condition that attacks the thyroid, leading to hypothyroidism. 'I started taking HRT about 12 months ago. Before that I was falling apart,' she said. 'I had no confidence. I was almost sabotaging all the hard work I’d been putting into releasing new music.'
The singer also suffered from severe pain, hair loss, and memory issues. 'I’d put my feet on the floor and every bone in my feet, in my shins, everything was... I was in so much pain,' she recalled. 'My recall was so slow and I couldn’t find the right words. I started to feel insecure and embarrassed.'
Hamilton reflected on the end of Atomic Kitten in 2004, which she described as a 'turbulent period' that contributed to her postnatal depression after the birth of her second son, Harry. 'It wasn’t the way I ever saw my career going. For it to end as bad as it did, it was so sad,' she said.
Now an independent solo artist, Hamilton is embracing her new chapter with honesty. 'I spent years in an industry that took chunks out of young women, out of me. And I’m like, ‘I’m not gonna now do that to myself.’ I love myself more than that,' she said.
