Katie Piper, 41, had always wanted a big family, but after an emergency operation on her eye, she was forced to give up on her dream of having a third child
While incarcerated in a Louisiana jail, Katie Piper had a revelation – she was ready for another child.
The TV presenter spent a month in the Orleans Parish Prison with female killers to understand their stories.
Separated from her own daughters, Belle, aged 11, and Penelope, aged seven, and hearing about the prisoners' longing for their children, she felt the timing was perfect.
"So many women missed their kids," Katie divulged. "It started to make me think, 'This is my last chance to have another baby, I'm going to be 40.
"And if I don't do it now, I never will.'" Upon returning home, she discussed it with her husband Richard Sutton.
She recounted, "I was turning 40 in the October, so I said to my husband, 'If we want another baby, let's do it now,' and we started trying."
However, an unforeseen medical emergency arose while they were attempting to conceive.
Katie required urgent surgery on her left eye, which suffered damage from an acid attack by a man she had previously dated in 2008, reports the Mirror.
"I had quite a traumatic event with my eye. I had to have a general anaesthetic and you can't be trying for a baby and also be having unexpected surgeries," Katie explained.
"So that scuppered that and we had a break. We tried again, but it just didn't happen."
Katie mulled over the possibility of IVF but, with over 250 surgeries under her belt since her ordeal, the thought of enduring more hospital visits and the potential heartbreak if it failed was too much.
Regretfully, she let go of the notion of having a third bambino. "My eye surgery made me realise I don't want to do IVF," she shared.
"I'm done with medical things and hospitals. I didn't think it would be good for me."
Despite this, Katie felt there was a void, particularly since her lasses were eager for another sibling. This inspired her to volunteer at a canine rescue centre, which brought her to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.
Soon after, Alison Hammond was by her side, aiding in the selection of a puppy to bring home.
The venture to Battersea was a true family affair, as Katie was adamant that they would only welcome a dog if everyone agreed. "We've had hamsters, we've had rabbits but it was me cleaning them out all the time," Katie recounts.
"We started volunteering and dog walking while still trying for a baby, and it just came to a natural conclusion.
"So we got our dog from Battersea. There was a litter of eight dumped with the mum and I went to meet Alison.
"I handled them all and spent some time with Alison and she actually helped me pick the right dog for us – a female with a calm temperament."
Katie and her family named their half cockapoo puppy Sugar through what sounded like a community election. "It was like a proper democracy," recalls Katie.
"You had to put the names you wanted in a box and we drew out each one and voted."
While Katie is busy promoting her upcoming release, Locked Up In Louisiana, and preparing for the launch of her new book, Still Beautiful, the responsibility of taking care of Sugar has mainly rested on Richie’s shoulders.
"He's been sacrificing work to be at home, because it is like having a newborn baby," she says.
Katie lauds Richie for his efforts: "He's done very well toilet training her."
The couple have even taken quirky measures while looking after the puppy. "We walked around like insane midlife crisis people with this dog in a baby sling," Katie revealed.
"And the kids had a buggy with the puppy in it because she can't touch the floor outside until she's had all her jabs."
At 41 years old, Katie's forthcoming book reflects on ageing gracefully and understanding self-worth in a culture obsessed with youth. Her own appearance was permanently altered following an assault when she was only 24.
"I experienced how society treats women who lose what they would deem their strongest currency: beauty and youth," she added.
"I learnt that at 24, and when you turn 40 people are ready to devalue you once again. If life expectancy is our eighties, I'm just halfway through!".
Katie challenges the stigma surrounding women's ageing by highlighting the positives that come with growing older. "What happens to women as they age, generally, is they become more financially secure, more stable, more independent, more established and usually more successful. So it's really weird to associate only negative connotations with ageing. I'm so grateful for being alive. Deborah James, Bowel Babe, would love to have gone past 40. It's insulting to devalue that."
In the 17 years since she was subjected to an unimaginable ordeal of captivity, rape, and acid attack, which left her facing years of health issues and surgery, Katie has built an admirable career, a lovely home, and a loving family. Despite the lasting physical and mental scars inflicted by her attackers, Katie remains unbreakable and strong.
Remarkably, she refuses to let fear control her and, as her own children grow older and begin to explore their independence, she's resolute that the heinous act she endured will not cast a dark shadow over their lives.
"You can't avoid crime," Katie states pragmatically.
"You're almost in victim-blaming territory if you think you can because you're almost saying, 'Only a certain type of person is on the receiving end of this, andI'm not, because I'm more careful.'
"Once you've been a victim of something like that, you go to therapy to find there is nothing you could have done.
"Of course you don't take unnecessary risks... you don't go jogging alone in the dark, just like you don't walk across a motorway. You're more likely to be in a car accident than you are to be attacked and raped."
Katie's children have always been aware of how she obtained her scars. As they started attending nursery school, they began to notice their mother looked different, and she has always been open and honest with them about the attack, described by the judge as "pure, calculated and deliberate evil".
"I've always discussed what happened and how," shares Katie. "Naturally, it triggers a response from them; 'Does this happen all the time? Why did it occur?'
"Young children also struggle to comprehend adult relationships and they naturally question things like, 'Why did you date anyone other than Daddy?'
"So we have discussions that you might not typically have with your children. But we're a unique family.
"I wouldn't want to frighten my children," Katie continues. "I wouldn't want to shield my 11 year old from the world to the point where she becomes incapable – and then vulnerable and potentially exploited. I want to arm her with common sense, knowledge, and logic. I believe being streetwise is crucial."
Katie's assailants were both handed life sentences in 2009. Since then, Stefan Sylvestre, who carried out the acid attack on the orders of rapist Daniel Lynch, has absconded while on licence.
Despite her traumatic experience, Katie regularly volunteers in women's prisons and holds the belief that the majority of inmates can be rehabilitated.
Her latest TV programme, Locked Up In Louisiana, sees her interacting with women serving sentences or awaiting trial for murder. This follows her previous series, Jailhouse Mums, which explored motherhood within prison walls.
"Gun violence is rampant and violence against women is widespread," states Katie. "Many women found themselves in a shoot or be shot situation, even though the law doesn't protect them when defending themselves."
Katie, who has dedicated years as a volunteer in British prisons, has honed the art of earning the trust of inmates, who often open up to her about their experiences. Time and again, their narratives echoed a grim reality.
"They're carrying guns, they get assaulted and they shoot," Katie remarks. "And because there's no self-defence law, they are now in prison."
The topic is fraught with nuance, and Katie is well aware that every tale has two sides, posing the question, "If somebody shot your son or brother in what they say is self-defence, how would you feel?"
The heartache of the women she’s spoken to, particularly the distress of being torn from their children, doesn’t fail to stir emotions of sympathy in her.
Arguably, Katie's life is worlds apart from those serving time for murder, yet she acknowledges a sombre truth – life can take a shattering turn in an instant. "It is quite sobering knowing that none of us are really that far away from prison," Katie muses.
"It could be a bad day, a bad choice, a bad set of circumstances thrust upon us. For lots of women, if they hadn't committed their crime, they might be dead themselves."
