Katie Piper on having babies, building her confidence and constantly being reminded of her attack

NEARLY nine years on from the savage acid attack that changed her life, Katie Piper is still suffering the physical and emotional fallout.

Not only does she have to undergo frequent and painful surgery to help correct the extensive damage caused to her face and body, she’s also recently had to explain to her inquisitive three-year-old daughter Belle why Mummy is so badly scarred.

“She asks about the scars and I explain: ‘Mummy got burnt,’” says Katie.

“Sometimes she’ll ask if it hurts and I tell her it used to, but not any more. When I go into hospital for operations on my nose she’ll come with me, and she has her own little doctor’s kit.”

Katie, 33, was left permanently disfigured after ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch arranged the attack on March 31, 2008.

In the days leading up to it, he raped her in a hotel room, threatening to harm her or her family if she told anyone.

He had then continued to harass her by phone and text, before luring her to an internet cafe, begging her to read an email he’d sent.

Unbeknown to Katie – who was just 24 at the time, and an aspiring model and TV presenter – it was a set-up and as she left the internet cafe in north London, Lynch’s hired associate Stefan Sylvestre threw industrial-strength sulphuric acid in her face.

The effect was instant and devastating, with the acid burning away Katie’s eyelids, most of her nose and part of her ear.

Her face had to be cut away and in its place she wore a mask made from the skin of donor corpses for 10 days, before undergoing extensive skin grafts.

In the early days of her recovery, convinced she had nothing left to live for, Katie passed her mum Diane, now 65, a note asking her to end her life.

But Katie has fought back and flourished.

She harnessed the media attention brought about by her ordeal and bravely campaigned to help other women.

She has launched her own charity, The Katie Piper Foundation, carved out a successful career as a TV presenter and published five books, including her most recent, Confidence: The Secret.

And after fearing her injuries and treatment had left her unable to have children, she has started a family – miracle daughter Belle was born in March 2014 – and the following year she married long-term boyfriend Richard Sutton, 32, a carpenter.

Even after all she’s achieved, she believes she isn’t anything special.

“People always go on about me being an inspiration, which is nice,” she admits. “But it’s an unrealistic pedestal to be put on. There are other people out there who have had things happen to them, not just me.”

Here, Katie reveals just how difficult it has been to put the past firmly behind her and why becoming a mum has made her feel more positive about the future.

Katie, it’s been nine years since the attack – are the memories slowly becoming easier to deal with?

Not really, I still hate talking about it.

If something bad happened to you, like if your mum died 10 years ago, you wouldn’t want to be talking about it a decade later.

At home around my husband, I totally forget I’m burnt and how I look.

Then when I’m around people who don’t really know me, I see them staring and I’ll be like: ‘Oh yeah, of course.’

I remember how I look and everything that happened.

It makes it hard for me to feel like it was that long ago because I’m constantly reminded of it.

Have you explained to your daughter Belle what happened?

She’s recently started asking about it, which I thought was so early.

She’ll say things like: “Your tubes are so cool!” [Katie wears tubes in her nose to stop it from sealing shut due to scarring].

She thinks they are similar to jewellery and she’ll ask where her tubes are.

There are pictures of me in bandages and with my mask on around the house and we’re very open about things, so it won’t be one big reveal one day.

She’s aware of everything that’s going on, and we tell her what she wants to know when she asks.

Do you worry about her more considering what you’ve been through?

Yes and no.

I’ve taken my own precautions to protect her, such as not putting pictures of her on social media.

But I don’t want to be that person who prevents Belle from doing things because of my past.

I always try to pass on a positive mind-set to her.

She’s at an age where she copies things I say, so I won’t repeat any negative affirmations about how I look or feel.

I don’t want her growing up thinking like that.

Of course, I have highs and lows like everyone else, but I make more effort to be positive now because of her.

In the months after the attack, did you ever think you’d come this far?

Definitely not.

I really cherish my family life, because at one point I never thought I’d have it.

I know that solid relationships with Belle and my husband Richard are irreplaceable.

Belle has a real personality now, and she’s a lot like me.

In what way?

She’s determined, bossy and headstrong, which makes me so proud.

She’s also got a proper Essex accent and she’s great at making friends.

She’s even been on a play date with Simon Cowell’s son Eric.

At her birthday party the other week, she had the microphone and was belting out Let It Go from Frozen.

Moments like that weren’t even a pipe dream for me when I was recovering because I was focusing on basic functional things, like eating, breathing and sleeping.

Would you like to have more children in the future?

When I had Belle, it was so unexpected.

I was loving life, but didn’t think I would ever be able to have children because of what my body had already been through.

So it was such a wonderful surprise.

At first I felt one child would be enough, but Richard and I both have brothers and sisters, so it would be nice to have one more.

But if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be devastated.

I’d be open to fostering or adoption – who knows what the future holds?

You seem to have a lot of positivity. Would you say you are a confident person?

Being confident is something I definitely have to work on.

Sadly, most people think confidence comes from being pretty or skinny.

It’s true that looks do matter, but they won’t give you a long, successful career or a happy marriage.

We all lose our looks eventually.

You have to be balanced and well-rounded as a person.

Which personality trait do you most hope to pass on to Belle?

Being resilient.

If you are, then you can take setbacks but then pick yourself up and carry on with your life.

That’s what I had to do, so I know how important it is. 

Confidence: The Secret by Katie Piper (£12.99, Quercus) is out now.