Katie Piper has admitted that staying married for a decade has been 'a struggle at times', as she prepares to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary with husband Richard Sutton next month. The Loose Women host, 41, spoke exclusively to OK! magazine about the realities of long-term marriage, saying: 'At first it’s all romance, excitement and lust, but then the day-to-day of marriage is a practice you have to choose to keep doing. Sometimes your motivation goes, but the discipline hopefully remains.'
Piper, who is also a bestselling author and presenter of ITV's Katie Piper's Weekend Escape, reflected on the challenges of balancing work, parenting and her relationship. She and Sutton, a carpenter and builder, have two daughters, with the eldest starting senior school this year. 'I felt a bit sad when I let her walk away, it’s the end of an era,' she said, but added that she felt hopeful about the future.
The TV star also discussed ageing and self-worth, revealing that she felt age discrimination 'creeping in' after turning 40. 'In my twenties, I was told beauty is a woman’s most powerful currency. When I turned 40, I felt age discrimination creeping in where we’re telling women the second most powerful currency they have is youth,' she said. Piper is working with ASICS on a campaign to keep girls involved in sport, noting that 64 per cent of teenage girls drop out of sport before 16.
Piper, who survived an acid attack in 2008, said her own experiences have made her passionate about change. 'My own experience as a young woman, then being told later in life that “your face doesn’t fit, you don’t belong here”. Breaking through those barriers made me really passionate about making change,' she said. She also released her book 'Still Beautiful' in June, which she described as 'a letter to my younger self, with some self-help'.
