Katie Price's new Sky documentary series, "Katie Price: Nothing to Hide," has drawn attention to her tumultuous career and personal life over three decades. However, two previously overlooked incidents from her early life may explain her behavior, according to reviewers.
Mother Tried to Involve Social Services
In the documentary, Katie's mother Amy Price recalls trying to get social services involved when Katie was 16 and moved in with her first serious boyfriend, an older, possessive man. Amy says: "She was 16. It was the first boyfriend that she had. She met him at the stables. He was older than her. He, he was definitely a wrong one. She said, 'I'm moving in with him, I couldn't stop her, so I run social services out, and I said, ‘Look, can you help? I've tried everything to keep my daughter away from this guy’, and she said, ‘We can't do nothing about it’, so she moved in with him."
Amy continues: "She used to ring me every now and then, because I wanted to keep things going and open with her, and she says, 'Mum, he's very possessive. Just leave, we'll take your stuff and leave. One day, he ripped all her clothes up, he ripped her boots up, said she had no clothes to wear. She went along to the end of the road, which is to tell round her, and I picked her up, and she came home."
Katie Recalls Abusive Relationship
Katie herself describes the relationship: "He was 25 I was 15. I was a kid, really, and I lost my virginity on my 16th birthday to him. He was on drugs, drank a lot, used to drink, drive a lot, hit me, maybe do things I didn't want to do, like I used to have to look forward, I couldn't look to left to the right. Are you looking at that man? You doing this, you doing that? I was pregnant with him, he kicked me in the belly, lost the baby. Even talking about it now, suddenly, ever really sat and spoke about it. It actually makes sense why I've gone for them kind of relationships, very, very, very unhealthy, because that's what I've been used to from young, being abused by men, young, young, and my first relationship was abusive."
Childhood Assault at Age Seven
Earlier in the film, Katie also recalls being attacked by a man as a child at seven years old. She says: "I just remember it being a sunny day. To walk to the park there was a cut way through a bush, there was three of us, there was just a man there. I can just sort of remember him approaching us, wanting us to do stuff to him and him wanting to do stuff to us. I can remember it clear as day, his face, the feelings of what he did. And then this boy and this girl walked past and they must have called the police. But I just remember, police talking, I don’t know what they asked but I do remember they took my knickers."
Impact on Relationships
These incidents do not excuse Katie's behavior over the last 30 years, but they likely affected her views on men and relationships. Since that teenage relationship, Katie has rarely been single. She is currently married to Lee Andrews, a relationship that has shocked her family and seems uncertain to last. Her mother Amy hopes one day Katie can find peace and a long-lasting relationship to calm the chaos in her life.
"Katie Price: Nothing to Hide," a four-part Sky Original series, will be available on Sky and streaming service NOW on 8 July.
