Post by audrey on Nov 18, 2007 22:15:35 GMT 8
18 November 2007
BRIAN BUILDS £2M HOME TO WIN KIDS
EXCLUSIVE He knocks down £800,000 home to make state-of-art pad Luxury 4-bed may help him get custody of Kerry's Children
By Tom Carlin
www.people.co.uk/news/tm_headline=brian-builds-pound-2m-home-to-win-kids&method=full&objectid=20123195&siteid=93463-name_page.html
Brian McFadden is building a £2MILLION house in a bid to win his bitter custody battle with ex-wife Kerry Katona.
The former Westlife singer, 27, wants a permanent base in London for daughters Molly, six, four-year-old Lily Sue, and girlfriend Delta Goodrem.
And he hopes that by settling in England, rather than his native Ireland, he will boost his chances of prising the girls away from mum Kerry, also 27.
Brian paid £800,000 for the plush riverside pad and land in Barnes, south-west London. After knocking down parts of it for renovation, he expects the new, state-of-the-art home to be ready for him to move in by Christmas.
A source said: "Brian has been thinking about buying a place in London for ages but he finally decided to take the plunge.
"His legal team advised him it would be a good idea to put down some permanent roots because the judge in the custody case would look on it favourably.
"He helped design the place and it's going to look amazing."
The area is excellent for schools and restaurants, and Brian's sister, West End star Susan lives nearby.
Other celebrity neighbours include Chelsea and England footballer Frank Lampard and tennis star Tim Henman.
Brian and Kerry are locked in an ongoing legal fight over their daughters. They wed in January 2002 but the marriage lasted just 21 months.
Since then Brian has dated Aussie singer Delta, 22, for three years while Kerry married cabbie Mark Croft, 37, from her hometown Warrington, in February.
Brian and Kerry have shared custody of their girls since 2004. But he has been worried about their welfare since an armed robbery at Kerry and Mark's home in July.
The girls went to live with Brian's mum Mairead in Dublin over the summer but are now back with Kerry and Mark, who have another daughter Heidi. Kerry is also 14 weeks pregnant with the couple's second child.
It was claimed recently that Mark won't bring Brian's daughters to the phone to speak to their dad.
Yet despite tensions between the two, Brian has launched a charm offensive and doesn't want to rock the boat. He is building the house to keep the courts happy and has admitted he even wants his beloved daughters to call Mark "daddy".
He said: "I think it's a good thing. To me it shows that they are happy living with him and feel comfortable and safe with him. Having a full-time second dad around is much better than Kerry being out dating and bringing different guys around them.
"And when they are at school it's easier for them to just call Kerry and Mark 'mammy and daddy'.
"But they know I'm their father and it's fine if they call us both 'daddy'.
"All that matters to me is their happiness and security."
peoplenews@mgn.co.uk
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BRIAN BUILDS £2M HOME TO WIN KIDS
EXCLUSIVE He knocks down £800,000 home to make state-of-art pad Luxury 4-bed may help him get custody of Kerry's Children
By Tom Carlin
www.people.co.uk/news/tm_headline=brian-builds-pound-2m-home-to-win-kids&method=full&objectid=20123195&siteid=93463-name_page.html
Brian McFadden is building a £2MILLION house in a bid to win his bitter custody battle with ex-wife Kerry Katona.
The former Westlife singer, 27, wants a permanent base in London for daughters Molly, six, four-year-old Lily Sue, and girlfriend Delta Goodrem.
And he hopes that by settling in England, rather than his native Ireland, he will boost his chances of prising the girls away from mum Kerry, also 27.
Brian paid £800,000 for the plush riverside pad and land in Barnes, south-west London. After knocking down parts of it for renovation, he expects the new, state-of-the-art home to be ready for him to move in by Christmas.
A source said: "Brian has been thinking about buying a place in London for ages but he finally decided to take the plunge.
"His legal team advised him it would be a good idea to put down some permanent roots because the judge in the custody case would look on it favourably.
"He helped design the place and it's going to look amazing."
The area is excellent for schools and restaurants, and Brian's sister, West End star Susan lives nearby.
Other celebrity neighbours include Chelsea and England footballer Frank Lampard and tennis star Tim Henman.
Brian and Kerry are locked in an ongoing legal fight over their daughters. They wed in January 2002 but the marriage lasted just 21 months.
Since then Brian has dated Aussie singer Delta, 22, for three years while Kerry married cabbie Mark Croft, 37, from her hometown Warrington, in February.
Brian and Kerry have shared custody of their girls since 2004. But he has been worried about their welfare since an armed robbery at Kerry and Mark's home in July.
The girls went to live with Brian's mum Mairead in Dublin over the summer but are now back with Kerry and Mark, who have another daughter Heidi. Kerry is also 14 weeks pregnant with the couple's second child.
It was claimed recently that Mark won't bring Brian's daughters to the phone to speak to their dad.
Yet despite tensions between the two, Brian has launched a charm offensive and doesn't want to rock the boat. He is building the house to keep the courts happy and has admitted he even wants his beloved daughters to call Mark "daddy".
He said: "I think it's a good thing. To me it shows that they are happy living with him and feel comfortable and safe with him. Having a full-time second dad around is much better than Kerry being out dating and bringing different guys around them.
"And when they are at school it's easier for them to just call Kerry and Mark 'mammy and daddy'.
"But they know I'm their father and it's fine if they call us both 'daddy'.
"All that matters to me is their happiness and security."
peoplenews@mgn.co.uk
***