Katie Price Sent Teenager "I Will Make You a Little Star" Messages, Court Hears in Kieran Hayler Rape Trial

Katie Price sent a series of messages to a teenage girl who was allegedly raped by her then-husband, Kieran Hayler, telling the youngster that she would turn her into "a little star," a jury at Lewes Crown Court has been told.

The messages between Price and the girl, who was 14 at the time they were exchanged, were shown to jurors as part of the prosecution's case against Hayler. He faces three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to the complainant, who was 13 at the time of the alleged offences in 2016 in West Sussex. Hayler denies every charge against him.

According to the evidence presented in court, Price contacted the girl after hearing suggestions that Hayler and the teenager had kissed and that he had "tried it on" with her. Price, a well-known television personality and former model, was still married to Hayler when the messages were sent. The couple's relationship deteriorated in 2018 and they divorced in 2021.

In one of the messages read to the court, Price said she was only raising the matter because it represented "a serious allegation." The teenager, however, replied that it had been "just a flirt thing" and insisted that "nothing happened." When Price pressed further, asking directly whether Hayler had kissed her, she added: "I won't bring up anymore just want truth. I will make you a little star."

Price also asked the girl whether Hayler had ever told her that he liked her or fancied her. The complainant responded: "Yes, but I took it as a joke." The court heard that no further action appeared to have been taken by the teenager in response to Price's remark about making her a star. Asked during cross-examination what she believed Price meant by that phrase, the complainant, who is now an adult, said she did not think she had said anything at the time. "I think I just ignored it," she told the jury.

The complainant was also questioned about why she had told Price that nothing had happened. She explained that she had been "trying to brush it off," suggesting she was not prepared at that point to disclose the full extent of what she now alleges occurred.

The trial has additionally heard evidence about messages exchanged directly between the complainant and Hayler. Jurors were told that following the third alleged rape, Hayler sent the girl a text saying "I love you goodnight," to which she responded: "I love you too." The complainant told the court that these messages, along with other "I love you" texts, had later been deleted.

Under cross-examination, Arlette Piercy, defending Hayler, put it to the complainant that the alleged rapes and sexual assault never took place. The complainant rejected that suggestion firmly, telling the jury: "I would never make it up." Piercy also stated that it was not accepted on behalf of Hayler that any such affectionate texts had ever been sent to the girl. The complainant responded that the messages were "deleted, long gone, years ago."

When asked whether she was the person responsible for deleting them, the complainant confirmed that she was. She told the court that Hayler had asked her to remove her messages, saying: "Kieran Hayler was asking to delete my messages." The defence has indicated that the suggestion that Hayler requested the deletion of messages is not accepted.

The court has previously heard that Hayler claims his ex-wife launched a campaign against him when their marriage came to an end, and that the allegations now before the jury formed part of that campaign. He denies all charges and maintains his innocence. Price and Hayler were married at the time the alleged offences are said to have occurred, but they separated in 2018 and their divorce was finalised in 2021.

The complainant is not a member of either Hayler's or Price's extended family, the court has been told, meaning the contact between the parties arose outside of any familial relationship. The alleged offences are said to have taken place in West Sussex in 2016, when the complainant was 13 years old.

The case is being heard at Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex, with the jury having been shown a series of text messages and other communications as part of the evidence. The trial continues, and further testimony is expected in the coming days. Additional reporting on the case has been provided by PA Media.