Katie Price in a RACE to Marry JJ Slater Amid Mum’s Health Battle – “She Wants Her There Before It’s Too Late”
In a heartbreaking update, Katie Price has shared that her mum, Amy, “can’t do the things she used to do” as she continues her battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Now, a source tells OK! that Katie’s mother’s declining health has become a major factor in her decision to speed up wedding plans with boyfriend JJ Slater.
“Katie is desperate to marry JJ as soon as possible. It’s so important to her that her mum is there to see her walk down the aisle before it’s too late. Her mum’s illness has made her panic and fast-track everything,” the insider revealed.
Amy Price, mother to Katie, her older brother Daniel, and younger sister Sophie, was diagnosed with the lung disease in 2017. Now, time is of the essence for Katie as she rushes to make sure her mum is part of her big day.
Katie Price’s Mum Amy Opens Up About Life-Saving Transplant & Near-Death Experience
Amy Price was initially given just five years to live when she was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease that causes scarring in the lungs and makes breathing increasingly difficult.
Determined to fight for more time, Amy underwent a lung transplant in 2022 in hopes of improving her condition. While she now experiences both good and bad days, the battle has taken an emotional toll on Katie, who has struggled with the reality of potentially losing her mum.
In a shocking revelation, Amy recalled how she temporarily died on the operating table during her transplant. Speaking in 2023, she shared, “I went into cardiac arrest, and they had to ‘pump’ me to bring me back. I hadn’t known that.”
On The Katie Price Show podcast, Katie asked her mum how many times she had technically died. Amy responded, “I think it was only that once. Apparently, I was shouting, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, they’re killing me.’”
The emotional journey has only strengthened Katie’s resolve to cherish every moment with her mum—and now, it’s pushing her to fast-track her wedding plans to ensure Amy can be there on her special day.
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.
A source claims Katie wants to marry beau JJ in a ‘low-key affair’ (
PA)
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.
But this time around, it will be a low-key affair with a small, carefully selected group of loved ones – more about sealing her love with JJ rather than the glitz and glamour of a huge, star-studded wedding, claims our source. And her children will be playing a special role in the nuptials, too, they say. “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 focus 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.”
