KATIE Price’s mum has opened up for the first time about the horrific sexual assault her daughter suffered while filming a TV show.
In her tell-all new book, Amy Price, 71, reveals how the attack sent the mum of five, now 45, on a downward spiral that saw her trying to take her own life.
4
4
The incident occurred in March 2018 when Katie was with her kids Junior and Princess, now 18 and 15, in South Africa filmed the reality show, My Crazy Life, and ended up being car-jacked.
Amy recalls: “Following a safari trip, which everyone had enjoyed, the production company decided to try to cross the border into Swaziland at a time of day that wasn’t safe, along a road that wasn’t safe.
“They were attacked by four robbers. One of the men put his hands down Kate’s trousers and sexually assaulted her before touching her all over and hitting her hard.
“Junior, Princess and a crew member were being attacked in the back seat by another robber and everyone was screaming for help.”
At the time a spokesperson for Multistory Media said: “All security protocols were followed . . . Extensive and long-term support was offered to Katie and her family following the robbery.”
Amy believes the trauma played a key role in sending her daughter to her lowest ebb, but it was not the whole story.
Katie was also left reeling from the news that Amy had been diagnosed with a terminal lung condition, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Amy continues: “It would be easy to pinpoint the beginning of Kate’s downward spiral to the carjacking fiasco.
Read Related Also: The real reason Katie brought Hugh Hefner to my hotel room – and it’s not what you think, says Amy Price
“A few months after the traumatic incident, one of Kate’s friends rang me to say they had found her trying to kill herself.
“But in reality, I think my illness has also understandably triggered a lot of fear and anxiety.
For years, Kate has relied on me as her protector, confidante and first emergency service and there must have been times in the dead of night when she wondered if she would be able to manage without a mum.”
In a bid to cope, Amy says Katie turned to partying to deal with the pain – especially after she then split with her then-husband Kieran Hayler later that year, claiming he had cheated on her seven times.
“After her return from South Africa Kate’s mental health deteriorated in parallel with her will to resist the chemical and alcohol highs which had become a major part of her lifestyle with Kieran,” Amy says.
Katie rebounded with fitness trainer Kris Boyson soon afterwards, but their ill-fated romance ended within months.
“In September 2018, Kate spent 28 days in The Priory hospital in London after her break-up with Kris. She was self-medicating and drinking heavily to the point of becoming suicidal.
Amy adds: “I wish I could have spotted the patterns earlier in Kate’s life and helped her think about the way she has allowed herself to be controlled by husbands, boyfriends and managers always for their own benefit.
“Of course, they would argue they were trying to get the best out of Kate, to make money for Kate, but in reality it also lined their pockets.”
Extracted by GRACE MACASKILL from The Last Word (HQ, HarperCollins) published on July 6 in hardback, eBook and audiobook. Amy has donated all her proceeds from the book to The Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis and St Barnabas House, Worthing.
4
4
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);
