Katie Price’s 3-year drug hell. Pal Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace: ‘She’s struggled for so long… I’m desperate for this to be her wake-up call’

Her troubled life reached a terrifying new low last week when Katie Price sparked shock and concern after crashing her car and being charged with drink driving – as well as driving while disqualified – with the threat of jail now hanging over her.

The mum-of-five – who has gone into rehab and will find out her fate when she reappears in court in mid-December – was arrested and taken to hospital to be checked over after admitting to police at the scene, “I took drugs. I should not be driving. I admit it all”. A swab test later revealed cocaine use.

Reports claimed Katie had been on an “all-nighter” after a row with on/off fiancé Carl Woods, and was on her way to buy more drugs when the she lost control of her BMW on a country road in Sussex at 6.20am. After her arrest, Katie's family posted a statement to Instagram, revealing how they’d been “concerned about her wellbeing and mental health”.

The post, on Katie's personal profile, read, “Today, our worst fears nearly came true. As a family we have been and will continue to help Kate get the help she needs. We hope that she will realise she cannot battle her issues alone.”

Her ex-husband, Kieran Hayler, also spoke out about his fears for her, saying, “A lot has happened recently, and I felt like, ‘Oh God, not another thing, when is the drama going to stop?’ And then I feel sad because this woman has been through a lot recently…

“How much more can somebody take before they break? If Kate carries on like this, she’s going to end up dead.”

Despite sympathy from some fans, there was an outpouring of anger on social media. Katie, 43 – who, in 2016, morbidly predicted she would “100 per cent die” in a car crash – has been banned from driving six timesover the past 10 years, and was arrested for being drunk in charge of a vehicle last February.

Among the comments online, one post read, “If that was any normal member of society they’d have been in jail years ago”, while another fumed, “She won’t do any prison time, sob story about depression, the kids, being bankrupt... She could have KILLED someone!!”

Katie's issues with drugs have been ongoing for three years. She first entered rehab in 2018, and admitted to using cocaine for six months as a result of stress, shortly after her divorce from Kieran. She then spent five weeks in The Priory early last year for post-traumatic stress disorder, following another turbulent year, which includedher split from then-fiancé Kris Boyson, and again Katie admitted to self-medicating with cocaine. She said she had reached a “dark place” and had been “going through hell”. She later revealed how her children – Harvey, 19, Junior, 16, Princess, 14, Jett, eight, and Bunny, seven – had told her they wouldn’t speak to her if she took drugs again.

But last week, Junior and Princess, whom she shares with first husband Peter Andre, both showed their love and support. Princess wrote, “Love you mum, so much,” followed by a heart emoji, while Junior added, “Love you mum”.

Now Katie's close pal, model and reality star Aisleyne Horgan-Wallace, says she believes she’ll change her ways for the sake of her children.

Aisleyne, 42, who has seen Katie regularly this year, says, “I was devastated when I heard about the crash. My initial reaction was that I hope she’s OK and that nobody else was hurt. I felt a sense of desperation that this will be the ‘thing’ that finally helps her. It will have been a roller-coaster for the children – to hear their mum was in an accident would have been awful. Katie is such a strong mum and she plays a huge role in their lives. They would have been terrified. They need their mum, and Harvey especially really needs her – he responds to her better than anyone.”

Aisleyne and Katie have often been spotted out together – last year breaking Covid guidelines during a boozy night in Essex – and she reveals she was with Katie at Sugar Hut the night she met Carl last year.

She says, “She’s so fun. She’s an extreme person, but I had no idea what was going on for her. I knew she had personal struggles, but when we are out, she always seems to be having a good time. Yes, she’s controversial – but that’s just Katie. It’s hard to know if she was having problems because a smile can hide a thousand tears.”

But Aisleyne says she’s now hopeful that the thought of leaving her children without a mum will be the wake-up call Katie needs.

She says, “I know the kids will be at the forefront of Katie’s mind and, if anything is going to motivate her to change, it will be the children, and her family. That nobody, including herself, was harmed is a miracle. It could have been a different story – she was lucky. I just hope she takes some time out away from the limelight and gets rid of any toxic people in her life. She’s struggled for so long – I’m desperate for this to be her wake-up call.”

Katie's lawyer told last week’s preliminary court hearing how she has had “a lot of personal problems recently”, including the risk of losing her house after bankruptcy, and adapting to living away from Harvey – who is at a college for young adults with disabilities in Cheltenham – with Katie revealing last week that he regularly calls her because he misses her “kisses and cuddles”.

Katie apparently told police at the scene she had been “lonely”. Despite wearing her engagement ring, it was reported she’d had a row with car dealer fiancé Carl.

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Just two weeks before the crash, questions were raised over their relationship after Katie was reportedly seen “knocking back white wine and asking for vodka” when she attended the NTAs alongside Harvey, after being nominated for her January documentary, Katie Price: Harvey and Me – which, in light of her crash, has been axed “indefinitely” by the BBC.

Onlookers revealed how she had said she was “single” and flirting with other men – which she later denied.

Katie had also alleged she was assaulted at her Essex home last month, and an investigation is ongoing after a 32 year old man was arrested.

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There have also been concerns for the former model after she had extensive surgery – including full-body liposuction, a “fox-eye” lift, a third face lift and a Brazilian bum lift – in July. It came less than a year after she broke both feet after jumping off a wall in Turkey, and was told it would cause “life-changing” problems.

Now, three months on, her family, Carl and ex-husbands Pete and Kieran are said to be begging Katie to get clean and focus on her mental health, with her family statement urging her to “return to the Kate we love as a mother, daughter, and sister.”

Friends have reached out to support her too, and Aisleyne says that Katie needs help to come back stronger.

She says, “I hope Katie gets the help she needs. She is hurting. She needs to go on that journey and come back stronger. Sometimes you need a shock like this to give you a new outlook on life – I hope this is the thing that will help her move forward with sobriety. Life is too short.”

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