OK! Magazine UK – 29 July 2019

WWW.OK.CO.UK 65

TALKINGPAINPRESSUREANDPARENTING

‘AREPEOPLEREALLY

EXPECTINGYOU

TOBEPERFECT? ’

 KATIEPIPER TELLSOK!ABOUTRECOVERINGFROMSEPSISTRAVELLING

WITHKIDSANDTHEIMPORTANCEOFSUPPORTINGOTHERWOMEN

C

hatting to Katie Piper, it’s hard to

believe that just two months ago

she was battling a life-threatening

condition. The 35 year old

developed sepsis after ignoring the signs

of a kidney infection.

‘It was obviously scary,’ she says, telling

OK!: ‘I was quite ill for a while afterwards.’

But the TV presenter and author took

her two-week hospital stay in her stride,

having grown accustomed to surgical

procedures over the past 11 years. To

date, she has had nearly 300 operations

after an acid attack caused severe burns

and partially blinded her in one eye. It

spurred her to set up The Katie Piper

Foundation, which has been helping burns

victims rebuild their lives since 2009.

Katie is now happily married and shares

daughters Belle, five, and 18-month-old

Penelope with husband Richard Sutton.

Here, she tells OK! why she refuses

to feel the pressure of being ‘perfect’,

how motherhood has affected her style

choices and why she had no clue just how

ill she really was recently...

How are you after contracting sepsis?

I was quite ill for a while afterwards, quite

tired, but I’m actually fully recovered now.

I’m doing a 10k run this week for The

Katie Piper Foundation, so I’m healthy

enough to do that.

Were you too busy looking after others

to pay attention to your own health?

No, I think it’s just that my pain threshold

is slightly skewed. I’m quite tolerant of

pain and I didn’t realise I had a kidney

infection. As a woman if you get lower

abdomen pain you don’t tend to go to the

doctor. The lesson learnt is don’t ignore

symptoms, get them checked out.

Has your husband urged you to look

after yourself more in future?

No, because I can’t be any more healthy!

I eat well, I don’t really drink, I don’t

smoke, I exercise. It was just unfortunate.

How are your two girls?

My kids are great, thanks. I’m really happy

as a mum. Penelope doesn’t talk yet but

they play together and run around in the

park. Belle loves being a big sister but

she’s quite an active child so she tries to

pick Penelope up and drag her around

the house. She’s quite sporty so she’s

determined to make Penelope like that!

Do you travel much with the girls?

Yes, and we seem to take so much stuff.

It’s good that they’re both girls so they can

share lots, like hairbands and brushes –

and poor Penelope is in Belle’s hand-me-

downs. Since becoming a parent, I live in

the same outfit when we go away whereas

the girls look amazing because they have

their whole wardrobes with them.

Have you had any difficult flights?

Always! It’s unpredictable – we’ve had

amazing flights where they’re really chilled

and then other times when they’ve been

awake, crying for the whole night. Other

parents are usually sympathetic, though.

Lily Allen complained last week about

a baby crying for 45

minutes during a flight...

I wouldn’t judge without

being there. I wouldn’t

judge Lily and I wouldn’t

judge the passenger with

the baby. You should

never make judgements

of other women.

Do you feel the pressure

to be a ‘perfect parent’?

Are people really expecting

you to be perfect or is it just

your insecurity telling you

that? It’s all about self-belief.

If you do your best and do

what brings you happiness,

you’ll feel fulfilled.

What else do your girls love doing?

They love books. Belle’s reading now so

at bedtime we have two books, one she

reads to us and the other one we read

to her. I love doing different voices. Belle

tries to copy them but she can only do

one accent. It’s very sweet. Richard and I

tag team each night so it’s quite equal in

our house, which is nice because Belle’s as

close to her dad as she is to me.

Keira Knightley banned her daughter

from reading fairy tales about

princesses searching for their prince.

Do you share her view?

No, we haven’t banned anything. I think

books open up conversations. At the end

of the story you might chat with your child

about what other possibilities there are for

the character – and for their own lives.

What strengths have you found in

yourself since becoming a mum?

Being able to function on no sleep and

having patience. I really admire single

parents. If you’re part of a couple you can

tag team when you get to the end of your

tether. As a single parent you’re taking the

full brunt and that’s really hard.

Above: Katie and

husband Richard.

Below left and bottom

left: With daughters

Penelope and Belle