Junior and Princess Andre, children of Katie Price and Peter Andre, have broken their silence on the reality of growing up during their mother’s darkest days in a highly anticipated new documentary, Katie Price: Nothing to Hide.
But while the siblings are only now opening up on screen, a source close to the family reveals that their father, Peter Andre, quietly stepped in years ago to rescue them from the unfolding chaos – a move that ultimately saved the children but sparked a bitter, years-long feud.
“Peter has previously said that in 2018 both Junior and Princess came into his care full-time, but it wasn’t until a year later that the family court formalised it,” the insider exclusively reveals. “It’s why he’s been so low-profile since, knowing his kids really needed a fully focused parent to get through what was a scary situation at times.”
According to the source, the custody shift was a devastating blow for Katie, who was battling severe substance abuse at the time.
“It’s been a bitter situation between Katie and Peter, who broke her heart in a way no one’s ever done before, nor will again,” the source explains. “It’s true she went off the rails after their split, but there were dark times during the height of her addictions [and] it was hard for her to see her kids grow into total clones of their dad.”
The reality of those “dark times” is laid bare in the new documentary, where the siblings recalled the immense emotional toll their mother’s cocaine addiction took on their childhoods.
Katie Price and Peter Andre’s kids open up about childhood trauma: ‘I’ll never forget the look on her face’
Now adults, Junior, 21, and Princess, 19, were reduced to tears as they recounted feeling “lonely” and forced to fend for themselves while their mother battled addiction and mental health issues.
Junior recalled a specific, terrifying night from his early teens that has remained burned into his memory.
“I remember missing her so much. This one time in particular, I was in her bed waiting for her to come back, and I woke up probably 3:30 AM to some loud noises, and I see her come in the room. I’ll never forget the look on her face. She was obviously on stuff, right?” he said. “I could see it in her eyes, and it scared me, because I’ve never seen my mum look like that. She’s there, but she’s not there, you know.”
He bluntly added: “Mum was on drugs, and she could not look after us, and that is the reality of it.”
Princess shared her own coping mechanisms from that time, explaining how her mother would leave her with a perfume-soaked blanket as a surrogate form of comfort.
“I remember after school I used to go home and just feel so lonely in a way. I used to just cuddle to the blanket and just cry,” Princess said, adding that they frequently had to survive on microwave meals and “look after each other.”
Ultimately, the source notes that Peter’s intervention was a critical turning point for the children, who have since flourished.
“There’s no doubt Peter getting custody of Princess and Junior was the best thing to happen and they’ve thrived ever since, with Princess’s reality show being signed for another season,” the insider shares. “His job is to protect his kids from the dramas in Katie’s life and she doesn’t have an easy job – raising Harvey on her own takes up so much of her time and there have been times when her other kids have suffered.”
Katie forced to ‘face her demons’ as kids work towards ‘moving forward as a family’
The road to recovery hasn’t been easy. The strained relationship even saw Princess ban her mother from her milestone 18th birthday bash just last year. However, with new boundaries in place, the family is finally rebuilding.
“Katie’s always been a proud person and very defensive if anyone questioned her abilities as mother, so this was a huge deal for her to open up in this documentary,” the source says. “No one ever thought this would end well, but to Katie’s credit, she truly has faced her demons. She wouldn’t have done this warts-and-all documentary if she hadn’t made peace with all of them, including Peter.”
The therapeutic process of filming has also helped heal the rift between the co-parents. Following a joint statement in February that ended their long-running feud, the exes are reportedly in the best place they’ve been in years.
“Filming the documentary picked off a lot of scabs, but they’ve all been able to finally move forward together as a family,” the source claims. “Peter’s even made an effort to get to know her new husband [Lee Andrews]. They have a good relationship with both their parents now the air’s been cleared and Kate and Peter are able to be in the same room without throwing chairs.”
While Princess and Junior “will always bear the scars of what happened” and remain “cautious that this may only be temporary,” the documentary has ultimately brought them closer to their mother.
“She might not have been a perfect mum and she’ll never get over the guilt she’ll have to carry for the rest of her life, but she loves those kids with all her heart,” the insider concludes. “And she’s beginning to appreciate what Peter did to save them.”
