Whatever happened to Katie Price?

Content warning: This story deals with descriptions of sexual assault and suicidal ideation. 

From the outside, Katie Price's life looks a certain way.

She's a former glamour model, and now an Only Fans content creator. She has been in high-profile relationships (and had high-profile breakups) that have been splashed on the front pages of countless tabloid magazines. She's often documenting her various new cosmetic procedures via Instagram, including her 17th breast augmentation just last month. 

Right now, she's facing legal trouble after being arrested for failing to attend a court hearing about her bankruptcies, instead opting to travel to Türkiye for her sixth facelift, which cost her $19,000.

But there's far more to Price's story than meets the eye. 

Katie Price's turbulent childhood.

Price was born in 1978 in UK's East Sussex. She has described it as a challenging childhood, one marred with trauma. She grew up with her mother and stepfather after her biological father left the family when she was four.

When Price was just seven years old, she was sexually assaulted in a park. It was just the first of a series of traumatic incidents at the hands of men in her life that have left lasting scars. 

"My thing that's always been wrong in my life is men. That's from an early age. I was raped as a child at seven. I was in a park," she said during a podcast interview with DJ Annie Macmanus.

Watch the trailer for Katie Price: Harvey And Me. Post continues below.

When she was 12, she said a photographer took indecent photos of her and ended up in prison. 

"He was obsessed with me. He took indecent photographs that I thought were innocent at the time," she told Macmanus.

"He made me do pictures where I was sticking my tongue out. They looked young and girly but to him it is sexual. He used to make these milkshakes. I never took one because I didn't like it. But the police when they came around to see my mum — that's what he did. He made the girls drink that, drug them, and take pictures of them."

Katie Price's life behind the 'glamour'.

At 13, Price won her first modelling gig, working for a clothing line. The modelling contracts continued to pile up, and Price decided to pursue a professional modelling career once she became an adult.

She found her way into glamour modelling and was known by her alter-ego, Jordan, quickly becoming a lads mag favourite. 

At 20, Price underwent a breast augmentation, increasing her chest size to a 32FF. That size has increased over the years, with multiple surgeries. Then in the 2000s, she turned to reality TV and various business deals — including launching meal replacement shakes and a perfume. She also tried her hand at singing and releasing music.

Although her glamour modelling life appeared star-studded, behind the scenes, things were tough for Price.

Katie Price in her OG modelling days, and with former husband Peter Andre. Image: Instagram.

She suffered an abusive relationship in her teens, has been publicly cheated on, and been charged with multiple driving infringements, including speeding, drink driving and driving without a valid licence.

In 2018, the trauma of what happened to her when she was just seven years resurfaced when she was carjacked and raped at gunpoint in South Africa.

"A car pulled up, six guys in it, out with their guns. They did things to me in front of my kids in the car. They had a gun to my head. We thought we were going to die," she told DJ Annie Macmanus.

Price said her children who were present in the car with her during the attack have PTSD from what they witnessed, and regularly attend therapy sessions.

Over the years, Price has had multiple kidnapping threats made against her. In 2016, a mechanic found a tracking device on her car which led to police uncovering a million dollar kidnap plot targeting her children, Harvey, Junior, Princess, Jett and Bunny. 

Katie Price's family life.

Price has five children. She welcomed her firstborn, Harvey, with Manchester United footballer Dwight Yorke in 2002, but the relationship was short-lived.

At 14 weeks pregnant, Price found out he'd been cheating on her after photographic evidence emerged of him with another woman. 

Yorke initially denied he was Harvey's father and demanded a paternity test, but a positive confirmation did nothing to strengthen Yorke's bond with his son.

In 2009, Yorke spoke of his estranged relationship with Harvey in an interview with Sky News. He said he wanted to "play an intricate part" in Harvey's life and upbringing, but blamed his football schedule, 'lack of access' and distance for his minimal contact over the years.

Katie Price with her son Harvey. Image: Instagram.

However, Price has long claimed that Yorke struggled to accept Harvey's disabilities, writing in her autobiography Reborn that he "refused to understand it."

Harvey was diagnosed at birth with the rare genetic disorder Prader-Willi Syndrome. He is also blind from his Septo-optic dysplasia, autistic, and has an underactive thyroid and diabetes. In 2017, Price publicly called Yorke out on Twitter for not visiting their son ever, adding "the door is always open" for him to see Harvey, who is now 22.

In 2004, Price appeared on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in the UK and met singer/songwriter Peter Andre.

They married a year later and had two kids — Junior Savva Andreas and Princess Tiaamii Crystal Esther — before breaking up in 2009. It has been reported that the marriage ended due to an affair on Price's part, though she has always denied it. 

Since their split, Andre and Price have publicly butted heads over their parenting styles on numerous occasions. Princess, 18, and Junior, 16, live primarily with Andre. 

Katie Price with daughter Princess and son Junior, over recent years. Image: Instagram.

While Andre and Price's divorce proceedings were being finalised in 2009, Price met and married MMA fighter and actor Alex Reid, but their nuptials only lasted 11 months.

In January 2013, Price walked down the aisle for a third time with bodybuilder Kieran Hayler. Seven months after their wedding, Price gave birth to her fourth child, Jett Hayler, and a year later in 2014 the couple welcomed daughter Bunny.

Price and Hayler's relationship was messy to say the least. Just four months before Price gave birth to Bunny, she announced on Twitter her plans to divorce Hayler after finding out he had been having an affair with her best friend Jade Poutney. Price had reportedly caught them in the middle of a sex act. It was then revealed he'd been having a sexual affair with another of her close friends, Chrissy Thomas.

Despite the infidelity, Price and Hayler renewed their vows in 2015, and again in 2017 after rumours of her own affair with Geordie Shore's Scott T emerged. 

Then in 2018, the marriage ended. The Sun reported that Price had dumped Hayler for good after finding out he'd been having another affair with their children's nanny. It's understood that Price and Hayler co-parent relatively equally with their two children.

Katie Price with her son Jett and daughter Bunny. Image: Instagram.

Katie Price's challenging past years. 

After her split with Hayer, Price was declared bankrupt.

In August 2018 she had her first bankruptcy hearing. It was adjourned to give her three months to pay off her debts. Then in November 2019, Price declared bankruptcy, her debts totalling more than $7 million. 

She also spent 2019 in and out of court facing a number of driving charges.

Her mental health subsequently spiralled. Price was diagnosed with PTSD and the "build up" of all the traumas and relationship breakdowns left her suicidal. In January 2020, Price checked herself into a mental health care facility for five weeks.

Price admitted if it weren't for her kids and that responsibility, especially for her son Harvey, she probably wouldn't be here.

"I just didn't want to be here anymore. I thought, 'What's the point? No one's here, no one's helping, no one understands what I am feeling. I woke up from it thinking, 'What the f***? I can't do this to my kids.' I was at breaking point," she said in her ITV documentary Katie Price: Trauma and Me.

Now, Price is facing further legal trouble. Earlier this year she had to file bankruptcy again.

An arrest warrant was issued for Price, now 46, after she failed to attend a court hearing relating to her bankruptcy, specifically on a $1.4 million unpaid tax bill.

Instead of attending, she had travelled to Türkiye for cosmetic surgery, undergoing her sixth facelift. She was arrested on August 8, at Heathrow Airport in London.

Writing on her Instagram Story, Price said: "I was never just abroad being ignorant to what's going on and I stand by the facts, which is that there has been miscommunications here between a number of people here to do with my bankruptcy."

She said her bankruptcy was due to "serious mental health issues and breakdowns from PTSD".

"Whilst it's been hard, I repeatedly will stand by the fact that I am not embarrassed or ashamed that this has happened to me. People lose their lives every day over the embarrassment and fear of these situations and the public bullying I've endured on this matter is simply not okay."

Price frequently shares photos and videos of her chaotic family life and she has made two documentaries about caring for her eldest son. She has another docuseries currently in the works. Price is also in a relationship with JJ Slater, a 31-year-old British reality TV star known for his appearance on Married at First Sight UK.

A typical day for Price now includes caring for her eldest son Harvey.  

"Half of them [are] to keep him alive," Price said in an Instagram video about her son's copious amounts of medication, "and the other half is for his behaviour".

"On Instagram, I only show him when he's good. But he's got a side to him. My house is smashed to bits. This year he has broken eight iPads and four TVs. Someone might bang the door and he'll chuck something," Price previously shared with This Morning.

"I've been in the s**ttest place you could imagine," she told The Guardian.

"Once you've hit rock bottom, and the media has shafted you, and you come through it, then it's amazing. And I have. The bomb's exploded, I've survived it somehow, picked up the pieces, and I'm starting my journey again."

If this brings up any issues for you, contact Bravehearts, an organisation dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse, on 1800 272 831.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

If you think you may be experiencing depression or another mental health problem, please contact your general practitioner. If you're based in Australia, 24-hour support is available through Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636.

Feature Image: AAP/Instagram @katieprice.