Katie Piper reveals she still suffers from depression from acid attack
KATIE Piper has opened up about her ongoing recovery following her harrowing 2008 acid attack which left her with burns across her face.
The 34-year-old model and philanthropist had her world changed forever when her spiteful boyfriend and an accomplice attacked her a decade ago.
Now appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, Katie says she is continuing to fight the after effects of the attack.
“I live with anxiety and I still get depressed, because you don’t go through life-changing things and just get better and it’s over. You learn to live with it,” she told the Daily Star.
“When you have another child, you have no downtime. I did feel depressed and low. But your body is going through changes, physically and hormonally, so I just tried to check in on myself to make sure it wasn’t spiralling,” she said.
Katie – who has two children with her husband of three years, carpenter Richard Sutton – says a healthy diet helps her fight anxiety and gain confidence.
“What we put in our bodies can make us feel depressed or anxious and it’s the same for fitness. I think it all joins up in this big circle,” she said.
In February 2008, Katie started a relationship with David Lynch after the pair began messaging on Facebook.
But just two weeks into their romance, Katie started having doubts and he later attacked her in a London hotel room.
Katie then went back to her flat in Golders Green and two days later, Lynch demanded she go to a nearby internet cafe.
However, it was a trap and Lynch had arranged for accomplice Stefan Sylvestre to wait outside her flat and throw sulphuric acid into her face.
Katie was rushed to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for emergency treatment as the acid had severely burned her face and blinded her in her left eye.
She was put in an induced coma for 12 days and had to undergo skin graft procedures.
She also had to wear a plastic face mask for up to 23 hours a day and in total has had 40 operations to treat her burns.
Just a year after the attack, the model then launched the Katie Piper Foundation to campaign for more specialist help for burns victims.
The attack was caught on CCTV and shortly after Sylvestre, who threw the acid at Katie, was arrested.
Later Lynch was arrested and the pair were both handed life sentences.
In 2015, Sylvestre went up for parole but his plea to be released from jail was dismissed.
Recently, his plea to the parole board received a positive response despite Katie's insistence.
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The parole board explained: "He displayed sympathy for the victim and expressed remorse."
Since then, Strictly bosses have been working to make sure Katie is safe at all times in preparation for the release of her attacker.
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