Katie Price denies vendetta against Kieran Hayler at rape trial

Katie Price denies vendetta as she gives second day of evidence in Kieran Hayler trial

Katie Price has given evidence for a second day at Lewes Crown Court in the trial of her ex-husband, Kieran Hayler. Hayler, 39, denies three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in West Sussex in 2016. The complainant cannot be named for legal reasons. Price gave evidence from behind a screen, an option available to all witnesses.

On her first day, Price told the court about the moment in 2017 when the alleged victim sent her messages making allegations about her then husband. Price was in Miami filming a music video at the time. She said she could tell the alleged victim was afraid from the tone and the content of what she was sharing. She recalled: 'I remember sitting on the sofa when she told me about Kieran. It was that Kieran had tried to kiss her that he had done stuff to her. Definitely a kiss, and that he said he loved her.'

Price said she wanted to get as much information as possible from the alleged victim because the allegations were serious. She said she was shocked by what she was told about her then husband, describing it as a different kettle of fish because it involved a child. She confronted Hayler at the time, asking if he had done stuff with the teenage girl. She said she could not remember his response, but that his response all the time was no, I hadn't.

The court has been told that the alleged victim went to the NSPCC in 2021 over the allegations. The charity then went to police, which launched an investigation.

On her second day, Price was cross-examined by Arlette Piercy, the defence barrister for Hayler. The court has heard that Hayler claims Price launched a campaign against him. Piercy suggested Price was angry and vengeful towards Hayler. Price replied that this was not true. Piercy also suggested she had a vendetta against him over a number of years. Price later said: 'I don't have any venom against Kieran. I never have done. That's incorrect.'

Price told the court she had a breakdown and self-medicated with cocaine because of her husband's many infidelities. She said she had spent time in the Priory Hospital due to severe trauma. When asked to look at texts the alleged victim had sent her, she said they were very triggering and that she had needed therapy to deal with them.

The judge halted proceedings for the day. Price will return to court tomorrow to continue being cross-examined. Hayler denies all the charges against him.