On Friday’s Loose Women, Katie Price opened up about being left disabled from her fall and the reaction to her documentary with eldest son, Harvey.
Speaking to panellists Nadia Sawalha, Linda Robson, Stacey Solomon and Kaye Adams, Katie told the ladies the latest on today’s headlines that she will be disabled for life.
“I had a lot of criticism from people saying, ‘Oh you haven’t really broken them because if you had you wouldn’t be out and about’. You girls know me, I am determined, I am not just going to sit there, you have to get on with life…
“They said it would take 18 months before I could walk again, I have started to walk a bit now, it has been about eight months… I am now regarded disabled, I can get a blue badge. I can only be on my feet for about twenty minutes a day, I will never be able to run again. So all those marathons that I would like to have done, I am going to have to do bikes. I am trying to find a positive with everything. I can still ride my horses.”
The personality, formerly known as supermodel Jordan, who has had a string of marriages and tabloid headlines, noted that if the accident had seen her land on her head she would have died, while if it had been on her back ‘it would have been paralysing’. She noted, ‘They said for life I will be in pain, I will get arthritis, I don’t want to rely on painkillers, that’s not me… it is absolutely life-changing.’
Katie also discussed with the loose ladies her recent documentary, Katie Price: Harvey & Me, and also confirmed it is likely there will be a follow up ‘part two’ to the programme.
“It’s actually been amazing because people have judged me as a person in the media and stuff… In the documentary that is stripped back, it is the journey between a mother and son with complex needs…
“It is a very calming doc, although Harvey is not always calm in it, and it just goes to show the connection we have and how hard it is. Hopefully, it was educational to people. I am just a mum with a child who has complex needs.”
She also addressed criticism over applying for funding for Harvey, when she is apparently ‘loaded’.
“People say, ‘Well you have got the money, why can’t you do it?’ but what have you got to remember it is not about me. Harvey is 18 and he is an adult, this is what he is entitled to. And God forbid if something ever anything happens to me, I need to make sure everything is in place for Harvey.”
Katie went on to explain that Harvey is now living in a house opposite hers to learn to be more independent, however can keep a check on how he’s doing through CCTV and his iPad. ‘He is absolutely loving it’ she observed, adding, ‘I fill it up with all his shower gels and his deodorants..’
Katie then said the move has helped Harvey get healthier,
“I think he has actually lost weight. In the actual household, he is quite disruptive, in the night he goes in the cupboards and eats the food because that’s his Prada Willi, but in that house, I don’t put anything in the cupboards that he can get so he can’t snack in the night. Not all the doors are banging, there is not all the chaos there, so he is calm there.”
Loose Women didn’t ponder entirely on the problems that Katie has faced, the ITV daytime show also reflected on the joy Harvey brings to Katie’s life;
“With Harvey, it is very rewarding. It can be challenging at times but what people need to remember is I don’t know any different. I had him when my career started so he has been with me through everything and we just know each other so well…
“These colleges are four hours away and to me it’s like, ‘Oh my god, he is going’ but I have to say to myself, ‘Kate, he is not gone forever. You can still see him, you communicate with him’ and I can’t be selfish and think, ‘I want him at home with me’. But is it like any parent out there, you just hope they care for him the way you do.”
Loose Women weekdays at 12:30 pm on ITV, STV and UTV. Catch up on the ITV Hub.
