In a heartbreaking update on her mum’s health, Katie Price has revealed Amy “can’t do the things that she used to do” amid her battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Now, a source tells OK! that her mum’s ongoing health struggles have given the 46-year-old an extra push to marry boyfriend JJ Slater sooner rather than later.
“Katie is really keen to marry JJ as soon as possible. It’s important that her mum is there with her at the wedding and to walk her down the aisle before it’s too late. Her being poorly has made Katie speed everything up and panic,” they explained. Amy Price, who is mum to Katie, her older brother Daniel and younger sister Sophie, was diagnosed with the lung disease IPF in 2017.
At the time, Amy was told that the illness – which causes scarring in the lungs and makes breathing increasingly difficult – meant she had just five years to live. However, she underwent a lung transplant in 2022 in the hope of improving her condition, and now has good and bad days. Amy’s illness means Katie has had to grapple with the thought of losing her mum, which hasn’t been easy.
Recalling how she temporarily died on the operating table during her transplant, Amy said in 2023, “I went into cardiac arrest and they had to ‘pump’ me to bring me back. I hadn’t known that.” On her podcast, The Katie Price Show, Katie asked Amy how many times she died. “I think it was only that once,” Amy said. “Apparently, I was shouting out, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, they’re killing me.’”
Speaking recently about her mum’s delicate health, Katie said, “People have to understand what my mum’s gone through, like her brain is still so active and switched on. She can’t do the things that she used to do, which is frustrating for her.” Talking on her podcast, Katie added, “Now here’s an example, because I am a patient person, but when my mother teases me and says, ‘Let’s go look at the shops in Isle of Wight, shall I take my walker or wheelchair?’ and I’m like, ‘No, we’re taking your wheelchair because I’m not taking an hour.’”
Katie famously has a close relationship with Amy, 73, who has appeared in several of the star’s reality TV shows and has been a pillar of strength for her over the years. Amy has also been “ruthless” regarding Katie’s romantic partners, but is reported to have given 32-year-old JJ the seal of approval.
Katie is known for her modelling career and TV appearances, while JJ rose to prominence on the 2023 series of Married At First Sight UK. He caused a stir when he embarked on a romance with co-star Ella Morgan, who had been matched with another groom on the show. However, their relationship didn’t work out and JJ met Katie later that year after she contacted him on Instagram.
The pair struck up a friendship in December 2023 before going public with their romance a month later. Katie – who is mum to Harvey, 22, Junior, 19, Princess, 17, Jett, 11, and 10-year-old Bunny – has been married three times. She first tied the knot with Peter Andre in 2005, before marrying Alex Reid in Las Vegas in 2010 and finally Kieran Hayler in the Bahamas in 2013. And she hasn’t made a secret of her desire to walk down the aisle again.
In December last year, she admitted, “I’d love to get married again! [JJ’s] very old-fashioned, so he hasn’t even put a ring on my finger yet.” And now, as Katie watches her mum’s health suffer, time is getting shorter, claims our source. “She wants her mum to see that she’s happy, and prove to her that she’s found a good one,” they explain. JJ will need to come up with something creative for the proposal, as it would be Katie’s ninth.
She was engaged to exes including Carl Woods, Kris Boyson and Leandro Penna. While she didn’t make it down the aisle with those former suitors, Katie has had her fair share of wedding extravagance, famously donning a £45,000 dress to marry first husband Peter Andre in a lavish castle ceremony.
