Harvey’s the one constant in my life. It’s a huge comfort to know he will always be by my side
In an extract from her new book, Katie Price: Harvey & Me, the former model and reality TV star talks about kidnap threats, trolls and her bond with her eldest son
HARVEY has had the odds stacked against him all of his life. But he hasn’t just beaten them, he’s smashed them – just like half of the furniture in the house.
Who would have thought it? My little boy, who was told he wouldn’t be able to walk or talk, is now 19 and can do both – and everything in between.
Harvey is now at his new residential college, National Star in Cheltenham, Glos. It’s so far from my home in Horsham, West Sussex. But I’ve got to let him have the best shot at life.
I’ve seen a huge change in him when we FaceTime every day. I’m filled with so much pride.
Now he’s there, I can imagine it could be so easy to say, ‘I don’t need to see him’. But I don’t want that to ever happen. I’ve been responsible for him all his life, and now it feels weird to have this freedom.
I’m like, ‘It’s 2pm, I need to give him his medication.’ And then I think, ‘Oh, Harvey isn’t here.’ It’s a strange feeling and it’s going to take some getting used to. But if something dramatic happens in my life, and let’s be honest, that’s a common occurrence, at least I don’t have to be thinking, ‘Who’s going to look after Harvey?’ It’s a massive weight off my shoulders.
I feel like now, for the first time, I can breathe. And even though I do, I shouldn’t feel guilty for that.
Of course, I will fight for Harvey and protect him for the rest of my life. We live in a very cruel world. It’s hard to teach Harvey that.
He’s so innocent, it breaks my heart that anyone would want to hurt him. But we’ve endured a lot together.
The first kidnap threat was when Harvey was four, the last, a few years ago. The police had intel a gang was planning to force me off the road and seize Harvey for a £1million ransom. They had been watching us and knew Harvey’s school. It was utterly terrifying.
The second threat, Scotland Yard said a gang were planning to stage a car accident, to grab Harvey. One time I was sent an anonymous email threatening to kidnap him and slash his face if I didn’t pay £50,000.
Criminals target Harvey because they know how vulnerable he is. Harvey needs his medication to survive. He wouldn’t be easy to kidnap now because he’s so big... but feeling unsafe in your own home is awful. I still have that feeling of looking over my shoulder – I don’t think that will ever go away.
Then there’s the online abuse. We’re campaigning for Harvey’s
Law, so trolls can be prosecuted, and, in 2016, went on Loose Women to discuss it. Backstage, I said: ‘Harvey, no swearing today please’. ‘Yes, Mummy,’ he replied.
But on air, it was a different story. I asked him, ‘Harvey, if someone says something horrible. What do you say?’. His response was, ‘Hello, you c***’. I was mortified!
Some might argue that his reply was pretty accurate. But I felt so bad that he had dropped the
C-bomb on live television.
Yet cricketer Ben Stokes then publicly mocks Harvey’s TV appearance in a Snapchat video. He’s a dad himself so should know better. He apologised and has gone through his own mental health struggles, which is sad, but he caused us a lot of hurt too.
Harvey’s also been made into derogatory memes about sex. Who the hell uses a young, disabled person’s picture to make a joke about
sex? It’s disgusting: Convicted paedophiles are on a register – trolls should go on a register too, everyone should know what kind of people they are. Why would anyone want to employ a bully, for instance?
Harvey has complex conditions including autism, Prader-Willi syndrome, and the mental age of a seven-year-old. He lives in his own world, and if you don’t know his world and don’t say what he wants you to say, then God help you.
When he was younger, Harvey would often hit his siblings. I could never leave him alone with them in case he lashed out. Of course he would never mean to hurt them.
Yet he’s also a big softie. He loves me tickling his belly, knees, elbows and under his chin. And he’s great at drawing, especially frogs. He amazes me every day. He was so proud to see himself nominated for our recent documentary at the National Television Awards.
It also amazes me that Harvey can see after we were told he was blind at six weeks old. He’ll point to things as we pass in the car and he can see his iPad up close.
As a parent, you never stop worrying about your children. But when you have a disabled child, the anxiety is multiplied by a thousand.
I felt I’d failed because I’d produced a baby that was like Harvey. But it’s no one’s fault.
When we first knew something was wrong when I was pregnant, I didn’t think, ‘I don’t want him’. It was the complete opposite. I wouldn’t change him for the world.
Whatever journey I’ve been on, Harvey has been with me through everything. He’s the one constant in my life. It’s a huge comfort to know Harvey will always be by my side.
My other four children, [Princess, 14, Junior, 16, Jett, eight and Bunny, seven] have their dads – and I absolutely hate having to share them.
So when Harvey and I do our daily FaceTime calls, we always end the same way.
‘I love you’.
‘I love you too, Mummy’. ‘Forever?’
‘Forever’.
I’ve seen a huge change in him... I’m filled with so much pride... On Harvey’s recent progress at his new college