Katie Price admits she ‘let herself down’ when she was arrested for drink-driving

Katie Price has admitted she ‘let herself down’ when was arrested for drink-driving after reaching a dark place in her mental health.

The reality star, 44, told MailOnline that she’s ‘learned’ from the mistake she made of driving under the influence, after receiving a suspended jail sentence when she overturned her uninsured BMW X5 on a country road.

Katie, who is set to front a Channel 4 documentary about her struggles with trauma, PTSD and mental health, added that since the crash she’s been attending weekly therapy sessions, and she ‘never wants to get into that place again.’

In September 2021, Katie was arrested for drink-driving after flipping her BMW on its side on a country lane near her home in West Sussex.

The star admitted drink-driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance at court, and immediately checked into The Priory following the arrest.

She was handed a 16-week suspended sentence and two-year ban at Crawley Magistrates’ Court.

Now, Katie has told MailOnline that her mental health was at rock bottom at the time of the crash, explaining: ‘I live in the countryside, I had no outlet, I needed to talk to someone and that night I let myself down.’

 Tough time: The reality star, 44, told MailOnline that she’s ‘learned’ from the mistake she made of driving under the influence, after receiving a suspended jail sentence

‘I am not justifying anything, there was a reason why I got in the car and why my head was like that.

‘Unfortunately, I did get into that place. I would never get into that place again. It happened and it’s real but I have learnt.’

Katie then revealed that she is still attending therapy months after the crash, adding: ‘I might be 44 now and have therapy each week, but I wish I would have done this years ago. It would have stopped a lot of things that I might have said or reacted to.

‘I have to accept [certain situations] and not bite back to anything anymore.

Woes: Katie (pictured arriving at Crawley Magistrates Court in December) said: ‘Unfortunately, I did get into that place. I would never get into that place again’

‘It’s hard for me to say because I don’t want to sound bitter and I am not bitter. I speak to my therapist now about my situations.’

Katie is set to front a harrowing documentary Trauma And Me where she discusses her struggles with mental health.

Ahead of the programme’s broadcast, Katie also revealed to MailOnline that she was raped during a horrifying carjacking in South Africa in 2018.

The media personality recalled the terrifying ordeal which saw her held at gunpoint during filming for her Quest Red reality show, My Crazy Life with ITV. 

She detailed the traumatic events that led her to reach breaking point, suffering a mental breakdown in 2018, and a failed suicide attempt where she ‘knocked herself out and had black eyes’ – after which she sought treatment for PTSD.

Ahead of the Channel 4 programme, which was filmed during the aftermath of last year’s car accident, Katie spoke of her triggers and suffering in the lead up to the crash. 

She said: ‘The experience when I was filming with ITV in South Africa, we had no security, if we had security they would have been able to deal with the six guys that jumped us, held me at gunpoint and raped me.’ 

Awful: Ahead of the programme’s broadcast, Katie also revealed to MailOnline that she was raped during a horrifying carjacking in South Africa in 2018

Katie was thrown out of the vehicle by the attackers, during her journey from Johannesburg to Swaziland in two people carriers with the production crew. 

The vehicles were ransacked of laptops, iPads, passports, cash and jewellery – but the robbers left behind a fortune in camera gear which the crew had stored on board. The attackers were never apprehended.

Katie first discussed her harrowing experience during an episode of Channel 4’s SAS: Celebrity Who Dares Wins in 2020, where she said: ‘Police said it was a miracle they didn’t kill us.’

During her new Channel 4 show, she candidly revealed: ‘I hit severe depression a couple of years ago, depression on top of PTSD, I was suicidal, didn’t want to be here. I tried to kill myself. 

Aftermath: She recalled the terrifying ordeal which saw her held at gunpoint during filming for her Quest Red reality show, My Crazy Life

‘I knocked myself out and had black eyes. I had bruises around my neck. I woke up. I didn’t want to be here.’

Katie’s stays at The Priory rehab clinic have been to treat her post traumatic stress disorder as she also added that through therapy she has learned to deal with her past and recognise what triggers her. 

Katie detailed: ‘I have had my eyes opened about a lot. When you go in The Priory, people assume that it must be for drinks or drugs. 

‘I have never ever been in The Priory for drink, drugs or addiction. I have been in the priory for trauma rehabilitation for PTSD.’

Onscreen: The vehicles were ransacked of laptops, iPads, passports, cash and jewellery – but the robbers left behind a fortune in camera gear which the crew had stored on board – with the incident documented on the show (pictured)

She continued: ‘Because of what people believe, it affects me. There is a stigma that if you go in The Priory, you are a wrong ‘un [one], but that’s not true. 

‘I think people who go in there are brave because they are facing their demons and whatever their problems are to make themselves a better person.

‘Mental health it doesn’t matter how big or how small that my seem, if it’s big to someone then it’s big to them. It’s just different. Anything can happen.’

Ordeal: Katie added that through therapy she has learned to deal with her past and recognise what triggers her 

As she deals with her PTSD and past trauma, Katie continued: ‘I feel like I have to protect myself. I don’t put anything on Instagram anymore. I don’t need to justify myself anymore. I don’t owe anything to anyone.

‘I don’t go on Instagram anymore and say, “Well this is wrong,” it crosses my mind and then I countdown, and by the time I am at zero, I am just like “Oh forget it.”

‘I feel better and I feel stronger for that. I don’t need to rectify or prove anything to anyone. I know the truth. I have grown up!’

In her latest documentary, Katie discusses what caused her mental health to deteriorate and the steps that she is taking in her recovery. 

‘There’s a lot in the programme but there is a hell of a lot I haven’t put in there, it’s only 45 minutes but there is enough to know that I have been suffering,’ she said.

MailOnline has contacted representatives for ITV and Quest Red.  

Katie Price: Trauma And Me airs on September 8th at 9PM on Channel 4.  

Learning: The former glamour model, who still goes to therapy, said: ‘I might be 44 now and have therapy each week, but I wish I would have done this years ago’