Kieran Hayler, Katie Price's ex-husband, told his rape and sexual assault trial on Friday that he does not have a sex addiction and that the claim was "made-up publicity" created to save Ms Price the "embarrassment" of him cheating.
Hayler, 39, was under cross-examination from prosecutor Ryan Richter at Lewes Crown Court when it was put to him that he was "practised at having affairs", and Ms Price had described him as having a sex addiction. He replied: "I have used that description, yes, but it's not correct."
Accusations and defence
Hayler is accused of committing three rapes and one count of sexual assault against a girl aged 13 in 2016, while he was married to Ms Price. He denies all charges.
In court, Hayler told jurors that he made up having a sex addiction after Ms Price and her management "created a narrative" to generate headlines and get income from the publicity. He said it was also to save Ms Price the "embarrassment" of him cheating on her with the nanny.
Mr Richter referred to an interview Hayler gave to the Sun in 2017, in which he said: "nobody wants to be a sex addict, nobody wants to cheat on their wife, but in that situation I haven't been able to help that." When asked why he did it, Hayler said: "It affected my life by talking about it. Kate decided that's what we're going to run with."
Relationship and messages
The prosecutor said Hayler goes "out of his way" in the article to say Ms Price "isn't a liar". Speaking of the sex addiction claim, Hayler said: "It was just made-up publicity, as with all of Kate's life." Mr Richter asked if the bit about Ms Price not being a liar was made up too, to which Hayler replied: "It is yeah."
Elsewhere, when asked about his relationship with Ms Price, Hayler told the court the final trigger for him moving out of their home was seeing it in an "actual state" coming downstairs one morning. He said: "[There were] drugs on the side, cocaine on the worktops, alcohol everywhere, the house was in an actual state."
Hayler has claimed the allegations are a "smear campaign to ruin me", orchestrated by Ms Price. He was married to Ms Price at the time of the allegations, before the couple's relationship broke down in 2018 and they divorced in 2021. Mr Richter put to Hayler: "Your feud with Katie Price is not what this case is about, is it?" "It is," replied Hayler. Mr Richter continued: "This case is about you having raped a girl, isn't it?" Hayler said: "I have not."
Allegations of coaching
Today, Hayler said he believes Ms Price and the complainant came together for a meeting and the alleged victim was "acting" in her police interview. He said previously in his evidence on Thursday he thought Ms Price was "coaching" the teenage girl after discovering messages Ms Price sent to her. The girl is not part of Hayler or Ms Price's extended families.
Hayler said he took pictures of messages on Ms Price's phone when they were together, in which she talks to the girl about Hayler fancying her, adding: "I will make you a little star." Hayler accessed Ms Price's phone by using her fingerprint while she was "in bed hungover or on drugs," he told jurors.
The messages sent between Ms Price and the girl include Ms Price saying she had heard Hayler and the girl kissed and he had "tried it on with her", adding: "I'm only asking as this is a serious allegation." The teen replies that it was "just a flirt thing" and "nothing happened." In the conversation, Ms Price went on to ask the girl if Hayler ever said he liked or fancied her, to which the girl said: "Yes but I took it as a joke."
Mr Richter accused the defendant of only producing the messages now because "you're desperate". Hayler replied: "Not desperate, I found them." The prosecutor said: "You never revealed them before because they don't help you actually. They show [the complainant] admitted for the very first time sexual things happened between the two of you."
But Hayler said the messages do help him, and that he never flirted with the girl. Mr Richter also put to Hayler that seeing the allegation and the complainant "partly accepting" this "must have been horrific for you". Hayler replied: "I just didn't think anything of it." Pressed on his own comment that he had taken a picture of it, the prosecutor argued that he must have thought about it enough to do so, Hayler added: "Yeah, of course."
The trial continues.
