Katie Price said she believed "there were three of us" in her marriage to Peter Andre and described the 16 years since their split as "hell," as she and friend Kerry Katona opened their joint live show and addressed renewed scrutiny of the former couple's TV-era relationship.
Speaking on the opening night of An Evening with Katie and Kerry at Marine Hall in Fleetwood on Saturday, Price told the audience she was "glad that the truth is coming out," and accused Andre's former management of having a controlling role in the relationship. She said that when the couple left I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! in 2004 "he had a manager" and, quoting Princess Diana, added: "[Peter's manager] ended up managing me and Pete and... There were three of us in the marriage." Kerry Katona also joked on stage that she had apologised for introducing the two on the reality show.
Price said she retained "good memories" from the relationship but that she had spent the years since their 2009 split suffering. "I've suffered 16 years cause of it, from when I split up I've had 16 years of hell," she told the audience, adding she was relieved that social media had prompted a reassessment of events from the 2000s.
The remarks come amid a renewed public debate after archival footage from the pair's noughties reality series was circulated online. Clips posted on social media show Andre swearing at Price and mocking her on-camera, and in another clip he appears to make a joke at the expense of Harvey, Price's former stepson, who has disabilities. The resurfaced material has prompted critics to describe Andre's past behaviour as "manipulative" or "narcissistic," while others have noted that short clips can lack full context.
Andre has denied being disablist and said the clips are selective. In an interview with The Telegraph last month, he told the newspaper that "nobody's perfect" and asked to be judged by meeting him, saying: "You'll either think I'm too talkative and annoying, or you'll think, 'he's alright, he's harmless.'" His representatives declined to comment to the Daily Mail about Price's latest on-stage remarks.
The resurfaced footage includes a scene in which Andre uses a stream of expletives to attack Price on camera, calling her a "f*****g idiot" and other insults. Another clip shows an exchange in which Harvey is asked to mimic a catchphrase from a Little Britain sketch; Andre is heard laughing as Harvey mumbles the line. Price has described the clips as evidence of mistreatment; Andre has maintained they are being presented out of context.
Relations between the former couple have been strained publicly in recent weeks after Andre issued a statement accusing Price of "peddling baseless lies" about their children and their living arrangements. Andre said the children moved in with him in 2018 "for their safety" and that a 2019 family court order enforced that arrangement, a claim he said he had not previously made public out of respect for his children. Price has said she refuses to be "gaslit" and has spoken about the dispute on her podcast.
Their daughter Princess, who has launched an ITV2 reality series titled The Princess Diaries, has sought to distance herself from the public rows. In interviews, Princess said the show is focused on her and not on her parents, and told the Guardian there was "no rift" between her and either parent. She also said she prefers to deal with familial disagreements privately and described her mother as "more stable" than in previous years.
The on-stage exchange between Price and Katona formed part of a broader night in which the two presenters discussed friendship, family and past marriages. Katona, who married and divorced several times herself, interjected during Price's recollection of the jungle-era events and at one point cheekily reminded the audience of the reality show setting in which the relationship began.
The renewed attention on archives from celebrity reality television underscores how material from early 2000s programming is being reassessed in a different cultural climate. Participants and audiences have reacted differently: some viewers have raised concerns about power dynamics and treatment of vulnerable people, while participants have warned against reading short clips as comprehensive records of complex relationships.
Price's remarks on Saturday night are the latest development in an episodic public dispute that has persisted since the couple's divorce. Both Price and Andre have used interviews, social media and public statements to present competing versions of events, while their children and other family members have at times sought to keep disagreements private. Media outlets have published and replayed archival footage, and journalists have reported on legal filings referenced by Andre.
Price and Katona's tour continues to promote their personal stories and experiences live on stage; Price's comments are likely to sustain media attention as archival material and new interviews remain in circulation.