Michelle Visage's Rule Breakers: Nine things we learned about Katie Price

The life of model and media personality Katie Price has had many twists and turns.

From rising to fame through glamour modelling, to winning Celebrity Big Brother, to turning her hand to writing novels, Katie is staple on our screens, and has documented her varied life in no less than six autobiographies.

She is also known for speaking candidly about the realities of bringing up disabled son Harvey, and revealing her own mental health struggles following traumatic incidents in her own past.

After bonding with Katie in the Celebrity Big Brother House, Michelle was eager to catch up – and together in the Rule Breakers podcast they discuss her career, motherhood, and path to self-acceptance in therapy.

Here are nine things we learned from the episode…

While training to be a registered nurse, Katie was temping in an office.

One of her colleagues was a photographer and told Katie that she should try glamour modelling.

The colleague took some photos of Katie on Brighton beach one lunchtime and sent the photos to a modelling agency and to The Sun’s ‘Rear of the Year’ competition.

The Sun passed but the agency snapped Katie up.

Though The Sun may have passed on Katie once, they did ultimately take her on for Page 3, including for a particularly extensive shoot that was designed to trail the release of the Demi Moore film Striptease.

The casting director told Katie that she should change her name to avoid being known as just “the Page 3 girl.” When he suggested Jordan, Katie responded “oh that’ll do.”

Katie didn’t just have an appetite for success, which came after Page 3 with work as a Formula 1 grid girl and appearing on numerous magazine covers, she also admits to being actually hungry all the time.

“I used to eat two jacket potatoes with cheese on before a shoot, and the photographer used to say ‘I’ve never known anyone eat so much!’”

Katie and Michelle discussed their time in the Celebrity Big Brother house, recalling when Katie’s body started to reject one of her breast implants.

Even though she was in pain and at risk from sepsis - which can be life threatening - Katie stayed the course of the show, despite recommendations from producers to leave the house.

Michelle told the podcast: “One of her [Katie’s] implants was rejecting and trying to break out of her skin and it was literally like starting to get necrotic.”

Katie replied, “I was so poorly. And the surgeon, he flew over three times a week to dress it…

“I remember Kate [Katie Hopkins] made a comment like ‘why don’t you leave, it’s not like you need the money?’ but it's not about the money, if you get this far, you want to stay to the end.”

Despite the risks involved, Katie has continued to have cosmetic surgery because, she says, “I do it for me. I’ve done my career natural, now I do everything I want to because I am older and because I can.”

She admits that her mother worries about her and that, as a parent, she would too, and she does have some clear advice for the younger generation.

“A lot of people now have so much filler on their lips, they all look the same,” says Katie, “but the sad thing is they're doing it in their early twenties, what are they going to look like when they are in their forties?

I think some people need to have a responsibility when they inject these girls.”

With so much to process, including surviving a carjacking which left her with PTSD, Katie now sees a therapist every week.

The sessions have underlined the importance of taking time for herself, which she has found challenging.

“I leave myself ‘til last,” she says. “Even if I am in the bath, the dog will come in or the kids will come in… I’m a carer more than anything. I want to do stuff for me but I can’t remember the last time I had a facial or a massage.”

One of the things that Katie has learned in therapy is not to react as much to the paparazzi anymore.

The impact they have on her life now is minimised because Katie sets up holiday shoots with them in advance.

However, not all of them play by the rules.

“I've become paranoid because I feel like I'm being watched,” says Katie, “but my family are like ‘hey, come on, you’ve got to stop’. But the next day, you see the pictures published.”

While Katie recognises that paparazzi are an occupational hazard, another red line she has is protecting her family privacy in their home in the country.

“They fly drones over my house and then print the pictures in the paper. I think that is disgusting.”

After being declared bankrupt in 2019, Katie is over £3million in debt. “I’ve been to court more times than I’ve had hot dinners lately’” she notes, “and I’m not scared of it anymore.”

Katie has even asker her lawyers if she can be put in prison “just to be done with it.”

“I genuinely don’t care if I go to prison,” she says, “I love all the prison stuff. I could do a story when I come out. It's a win-win situation and it wouldn't affect my job. I wouldn’t be in there long.”

Katie has become very keen on body art, with her G-string and garter tattoo well-publicised.

“I do like tattoos on girls to a point,” she says, “sometimes it can look good, sometimes it can look trashy – you have to find a balance.”

Katie’s secret for withstanding the pain? “I can’t do it without a good numbing cream!”