Katie Price 'rushing to marry JJ Slater' for heartbreaking reason amid mum Amy's health battle
Katie Price is reportedly keen to marry her boyfriend JJ Slater as soon as possible amid her mum Amy's ongoing battle with lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
Katie Price has shared a poignant update on her mum Amy's health, revealing that she "can't do the things that she used to do" amid her battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
A source close to Katie told OK! that her mum's health challenges have spurred the former glamour model, 46, to consider marrying her boyfriend, MAFS UK star 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," the source said.
Amy Price, Katie's mum, was diagnosed with the lung condition IPF in 2017. Initially given just five years to live due to the disease, which leads to scarring of the lungs and progressively worsens breathing, Amy underwent a lung transplant in 2022, hoping to improve her situation. Now, she experiences both good and bad days.
The reality of Amy's illness has forced Katie to confront the possibility of losing her mum, a situation that has been far from easy for her, reports the Mirror.
Strictly's Amy Dowden, recalling her near-death experience during her transplant operation in 2023, revealed on The Katie Price Show podcast: "I went into cardiac arrest and they had to 'pump' me to bring me back. I hadn't known that."
When asked by Katie how many times she had died, Amy responded: "I think it was only that once," adding, "Apparently, I was shouting out, 'I can't breathe, I can't breathe, they're killing me."
Katie recently spoke about her mum's fragile health, stating: "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."
On her podcast, Katie further explained: "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 is well-known for her close bond with mum Amy, 73, who has been a regular feature on her reality TV shows and a constant source of support throughout her life. Amy, known for her "ruthless" opinions on Katie's romantic partners, is said to have given her seal of approval to Katie's 32-year-old partner, JJ.
Katie, famed for her modelling and TV work, and JJ, who gained notoriety on the 2023 series of Married At First Sight UK, have been making headlines. JJ turned heads when he started a romance with show participant Ella Morgan, despite her being paired with another groom.
Their relationship fizzled out, and later that year, Katie reached out to JJ on Instagram. The duo began as friends in December 2023 and took their relationship public the following month. Katie, a mother to five – Harvey, 22, Junior, 19, Princess, 17, Jett, 11, and Bunny, 10 – has been down the aisle three times before.
Her marriage history includes Peter Andre in 2005, Alex Reid in 2010 in Las Vegas, and Kieran Hayler in the Bahamas in 2013. She's openly expressed her eagerness to marry once more.
Last December, she confessed: "I'd love to get married again! [JJ's] very old-fashioned, so he hasn't even put a ring on my finger yet."
With her mother's health declining, Katie feels an urgency, according to insiders. "She wants her mum to see that she's happy, and prove to her that she's found a good one," they say.
Given it would be Katie's fourth wedding, expectations are high for JJ's proposal creativity. Katie, previously engaged to Carl Woods, Kris Boyson and Leandro Penna, has had her fair share of wedding splendour. She famously wore a £45,000 dress for her extravagant castle wedding to first husband Peter Andre.
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However, this time around, it's set to be a more intimate affair with a small, handpicked group of loved ones.
Her children will also play a special part in the ceremony. The source added: "Harvey will be very much involved and will probably be a pageboy. He gets on really well with JJ. It will be a low-key wedding, not a big affair. It's going to be a much smaller do than her other weddings, the opposite of when she married Peter.
"She just wants to concentrate on being with JJ, rather than the extravagance. Although, knowing Katie, there will be something outrageous up her sleeve! But she's determined to be JJ's wife – and quickly."
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