Katie Price and her children Junior and Princess travelled to South Africa in 2018 to film her reality show, My Crazy Life.
The family had been on a safari trip before a horrific turn of events saw their car attacked by four men.
Katie’s mum, Amy Price, 71, recalled in her new book: “One of the men put his hands down Kate’s trousers and sexually assaulted her before touching her all over and hitting her hard.
“Junior, Princess and a crew member were being attacked in the back seat by another robber and everyone was screaming for help.”
Amy says the attack sent the 45-year-old star on a downward spiral which led to her attempting suicide.
Amy wrote in quotes obtained by The Sun: “It would be easy to pinpoint the beginning of Kate’s downward spiral to the carjacking fiasco.
“A few months after the traumatic incident, one of Kate’s friends rang me to say they had found her trying to kill herself.
“But in reality, I think my illness has also understandably triggered a lot of fear and anxiety.”
Amy was diagnosed with terminal lung condition, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, six years ago. The illness causes scarring on the lungs which makes it hard for the body to take in oxygen and gets worse over time.
Katie previously discussed the horrific incident in her Channel 4 documentary, Trauma and Me.
She said that she “suffered a mental breakdown” and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The mum-of-five said last year: “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.
“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 also sought treatment at The Priory after the carjacking attack.
In a separate interview in 2022, Katie slammed ITV over a lack of security during her trip and said that the likes of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield would have been treated differently.
She told The Times: “They wouldn’t do that to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, would they? If they went away they’d have security people licking their a***s, sweeping the f***ing floor for them.
“I’m the type of person who’ll stay in the same hotel as the crew, because they get cheaper hotels than the talent.
“Because I’m me, and I’m humble, people take advantage of it. Look what happened. I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
At the time, a spokesperson for Multistory Media said “all security protocols were followed” and “long-term support was offered” to Katie and her family in the aftermath of the incident.
They said: “We understand that the robbery in 2018 was very distressing for Katie, her family and the production team.
“All security protocols were followed and the robbery was investigated at the time by the local police and the production team. Extensive and long-term support was offered to Katie and her family following the robbery.
“Reported allegations of sexual assault are most concerning. At no point, during the robbery or the subsequent investigation, did anyone involved or who witnessed this incident suggest that a rape had taken place.”
Amy’s book, The Last Word, is out on July 6 and proceeds will be donated to The Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis and St Barnabas House.
If you or someone you know has been affected by this story, Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year.
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