She suffered life-changing burns to her face and neck in 2008 after her jealous ex-boyfriend recruited an accomplice to target her in a pre-planned street attack outside her north London home.
And on Tuesday Loose Women, Katie Piper, 38, shared her ‘Life Before Loose’ story, describing how her world changed after the acid attack that left her disfigured and recalling the abuse thrown at her during her recovery.
In addition to looking back at the moment her life changed and found purpose at the same time, Katie also spoke fondly of a happy childhood growing up in Hampshire, her rebellious teenage years and her move to London.
Brave: On Tuesday’s Loose Women, Katie Piper, 38, shared her ‘Life Before Loose’ story, describing how her world changed after the acid attack and abuse thrown at her during her recovery
Speaking to panelists Christine Lampard, Coleen Nolan and Janet Street-Porter, Katie candidly reflected on how her world changed when she was 24.
She admitted: “When I look back and think about it, it feels like two separate lives. I’m 38, but I’m feeling a bit in my 70s or 80s.
“Because what happened to me, I condensed so much into such a short period of time, and that happens to some people in their entire lives.
“In some ways you can take that as positive – life experiences enrich us, they build our character and we can use that in our future, but in other ways it was a lot. It took its toll on me mentally and physically. Some physical changes are still going on in my medical journey.”
Flashback: In 2008, at the age of 24, a corrosive substance was thrown over her during a terrifying ordeal that left her disfigured
Back in the day: Katie lived a glamorous life in London before being attacked at age 24
She added: “Nobody prepares for that. It was as if my life was turned upside down in a matter of seconds. A lot of different things happen to people and what happened to me is obviously more visual, but we all experience trauma to varying degrees. Trauma is part of life, but it doesn’t have to be life imprisonment.’
The sulfuric acid, some of which Katie had swallowed, blinded her in her left eye, causing partial-thickness and full-thickness burns.
About how her parents handled the situation, Katie said: “It was quite complicated because when people think of burns, they think of military heroes or burns in the kitchen or fireworks.
“I don’t think any of us realized how much it affects so many functions and so many other internal medical issues that we had to educate ourselves about…
“It’s not an accident that happened to me. A long legal process, several allegations that the whole family was affected – my siblings, my parents…’
Reflecting: ‘It does feel like two separate lives. I’m 38 but I feel a bit in my 70s or 80s because what happened to me… It took its toll on me both mentally and physically”
Katie also thought about why she made her first documentary – Katie: My Beautiful Face – in which she spoke candidly about what had happened to her.
She explained: “How people reacted was my motivation to make the documentary because I initially looked very different from how I am sitting here now, I wore a face mask for two years, I had a shaved head, a very purple/red appearance…
“People responded by asking me to leave stores and yelling at me in the street. I wasn’t famous, I wasn’t famous, people didn’t understand why I was wearing a mask…
“I wanted to explain to people why I looked like this, raise people, get myself out of that isolation]… I’m not contagious, I’m not going to do anything that would have me rejected from society.”
Recovery: “People responded by asking me to leave stores and yelling at me in the street. I wasn’t famous, I wasn’t famous, people didn’t understand why I was wearing a mask…” Katie explained
The presenter also shared how Simon Cowell helped her set up the Katie Piper Foundation, where she mentors burn survivors.
Katie – who recently received an OBE – said: ‘Taking back that empowerment and having that voice became very important to me….I believe there are some things in life that sometimes we can’t control, we are the captain of our own ship. Your life is ultimately in your hands… what a privilege to find your purpose at 24.”
Elsewhere, Katie thought back to her “great” childhood, growing up in a small village, and recalled: “I was a tomboy. I had a terrible haircut – a bowl haircut. My father was a hairdresser in the local village, and my mother a teacher, so you had my father’s haircut or my mother’s detention.’
Helping others: The presenter also shared how Simon Cowell helped her set up the Katie Piper Foundation, where she mentors a burn survivor
She added: “It was harmless, I never had any real pain or trauma growing up. My father and mother were invested in us… It was not about big ambitions, but about independence and finding your own way in life.’
Speaking of her teenage years, Katie said she was a “disappointing” teen. She revealed: “I grew up in such a small town, I really wanted the city life … I rebelled, I was the smoker, the drinker, I jumped out the window to go out at night, I pierced my nose… used to dye my hair with food coloring because I didn’t have access to hair dye.’
Katie then went on to say that she had taken a hair and beauty course in college, admitting, “I wasn’t exactly academic. It wasn’t because I wasn’t smart, I just wasn’t interested… I was more interested in dating and boyfriends.”
Family: ‘It was not an accident that happened to me. A long legal process, several allegations that the whole family was affected – my siblings, my parents…” Katie said of how her family coped (pictured with her mother in childhood)
Longing for more, Katie moved to London “to find another life”, where she lived in a house with actors, dancers, theater makers, promo girls, which eventually became the path she took.
She said: ‘It felt exciting, who knew where it might or might not take me? It was more money than I was making at the time. I worked on retail television, selling solar panel lights, quiz shows until 4 a.m., furniture catalogs and advertisements…’
Katie explained that “there was a lot of partying because of this.” She said, ‘Monday-Thursday, going out, drinking, eating. I’ve always been a real people person. I’ve always grabbed life and loved glamorous things.’
Katie also revealed that she was watching Loose Women at the time, telling the panel: “I always wanted to be in that world and talk on television, connect with people, I used to watch Loose Women, I’ve watched it since I was a kid. I think Coleen Nolan was back on it then!’
Fond memories: Katie also spoke fondly of a happy childhood growing up in Hampshire, her rebellious teenage years and her move to London