TV star Katie Piper has revealed how the injuries she sustained from an acid attack 17 years ago ultimately robbed her of the chance of having a third child.
The 41-year-old activist and Loose Women host has undergone hundreds of operations over the years, since the attack which left her partially blind and was arranged by her ex-boyfriend, Daniel Lynch, in March 2008. Lynch was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years in May 2009.
In 2023, Piper was trying for a third child with husband Richard Sutton, but the couple had to abandon their plans when doctors told her she required an emergency operation on her blind left eye.
Piper explained that she had wanted to try for another baby around the time she was filming with jailed mothers at a New Orleans Parish Prison for a new documentary called Locked Up.
She told The Mirror: “So many women missed their kids [in prison]. It started to make me think, ‘This is my last chance to have another baby, I’m going to be 40. And if I don’t do it now, I never will.’ I was turning 40 that October so I said to my husband, ‘If we want another baby, let’s do it now,’ and we started trying.”
However, an emergency operation on her eye scuppered those plans. “I had quite a traumatic event with my eye. I had to have a general anaesthetic and you can’t be trying for a baby and also be having unexpected surgeries,” she explained
Piper added: “We tried again, but it just didn’t happen.”
Piper, who has had more than 250 operations since the attack, said she did consider IVF as an option to get pregnant but couldn’t face the thought of spending more time in hospital.
In January 2025, she revealed she’d “reached the end of [the] road” in regards to her eye health and had made the decision to be fitted with the artificial eyeball in an Instagram post on Friday (10 January). She shared a video of her appearing to begin her treatment with a medical tool inserted into her eye socket.
“After many years battling with my eye health, I’ve reached the end of road somewhat, and the decision has been made to try a prosthetic eye shell,” she wrote.
“This marks the start of a journey to have an artificial eye, with an incredible medical team behind me. As always I’m incredibly grateful to all those in the NHS and private health care system for their talent and kindness.
“I will share my journey, I’m hopeful and nervous about being able to tolerate it and would love to hear from any of you in the comments if you’ve been on this journey or have any advice.”
