In an emotional joint interview for Katie Price's new Sky series, Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, her children Junior and Princess Andre broke down in tears as they recalled how their mother's drug battles left her unable to look after them properly.
Katie shares Junior, 21, and Princess, 19, with ex-husband Peter Andre. The siblings have been in the limelight since a young age and had to deal with the fallout of their parents' split, which saw Katie struggle and turn to cocaine to cope with her issues.
Junior Recalls Frightening Night
Junior said in the documentary: "I remember missing her so much. This one time in particular, I was in her bed waiting for her to come back, and I woke up probably 3:30am to some loud noises, and I see her come in the room, and I'll never forget the look on her face, she was obviously on stuff, right?"
He added: "I could see it in her eyes, and I was... it scared me, because I've never seen my mum look like that. She's there, but she's not there, you know." Junior explained: "She wasn't in the right headspace, she really wasn't. And she wasn't being a mum, she wasn't being the mum that I knew from when I was a little boy."
Junior Left Home at 14 or 15
Junior continued: "The amount of love she gave me was so immense that that's what I missed so much. Mum was on drugs, and she could not look after us, and that is the reality of it. She couldn't." He said he eventually left home: "I clocked on that this was a very unhealthy environment, and I needed to get out. I did leave. I think I was about 14 or 15. Thank God that my dad was stable, because that's the house that I went to and gained my sanity back."
"While I was wishing and hoping that my mum would come back and turn herself around. It made me feel like I wasn't good enough, because she wasn't fixing herself for me," he added.
Princess Clung to Perfume-Sprayed Blanket
Princess shared her own painful memories: "She'd give me a blanket, and she sprayed all her perfume on it, and that was like that was my, my attachment to Mum. So I remember after school I used to go home and just feel so like lonely in a way. I used to just cuddle to the blanket and just cry." She added: "I stayed. I always wanted to be there for her, and I always wanted to show her that, like, she has me, she has us, but she didn't understand that at the time, because she was so hooked up in her own problems."
The pair grew emotional as they explained how they had to learn to fend for themselves, including making microwave meals and "looking after each other."
Katie Admits She Was 'Unwell'
In the documentary, Katie is candid about her past drug use, which came around a decade after her split from Peter in 2009 and during a series of failed relationships. She admitted: "It was the only thing that blocked everything out. It will take out that pain, it will take out any worry, it will take out the noise."
Katie said: "When I hear what the kids, how they saw it, it breaks my heart. But they were still always looked after, I still had people around me looking after them, like helping me. But that's not good enough. Kids need their mum, kids need their mum's love, their mum's hugs, and I thought I was giving that, but obviously I wasn't. It must have been horrible for them, and I'm just sorry to them that I put them through that."
She added: "I was unwell. I couldn't even look after myself. I was more than rock bottom. I didn't want to be. I wanted to die. I felt worthless, suicidal thoughts all the time."
Crash and Rehab
After one night of drinking and drugs in September 2021, when she was feeling suicidal, she crashed her car. At the scene, before being taken to hospital and then a police station, she told her mum she "wanted to be out of it." Katie said: "I remember when they put me in a cell it was like peace. Peace and quiet. I found that quite comforting. It is quite sad to think that."
The six weeks she spent in The Priory rehab clinic saved her life, she said, and helped her learn to look after herself. Her relationship with Junior and Princess has improved as a result.
Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a four-part Sky Original series, will be available on Sky and streaming service NOW on 8 July.
