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Katie Piper says acid attack scars act as 'idiot filter' as she opens up on personal life

Katie Piper suffered a horrific acid attack almost 20 years ago, but the mum-of-two says the life-changing incident served as an "idiot filter" when it came to attracting the right kind of man

[Katie Piper]

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Katie Piper says her acid attack acts as an 'idiot filter'(Image: Getty Images for BAFTA)

Acid attack victim Katie Piper has told how her injuries acted as an "idiot filter" as she knew it help her attract the right kind of man.

The activist was subjected to a horrifying attack when an ex-boyfriend arranged for someone to throw sulphuric acid at her face in north London in March 2008. It caused major damage to her face and blindness in one eye.

Katie has since become a staunch campaigner supporting burns victims, setting up her own charity, writing books and making documentaries on the subject.

The campaigner, 42, is now a married mum-of-two having tied the knot with carpenter Richard Sutton in 2015. She admits that her face became an "idiot filter" after the attack.

Katie explained to The Times: "Because I would never attract a man who fall out of love with me because I've aged or gained weight, or because he meets a younger model - her just wouldn't fancy me in the first place."

She revealed how her husband stepped aside when she went to collect her OBE because he wasn't in her life when the acid attack took place.

[Katie Piper and Richard Sutton ]

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Katie Piper with her husband Richard Sutton (Image: Dave Benett/Getty Images for UKTV)

Katie added: "My husband wasn't around when the reason for my charity work took place, so he kindly stood down and said: 'I shouldn't be your plus-one. It should be your mum or your dad. It was a really good thing to do with mum, to give her back something that was joyful."

Katie, who waived her right to anonymity to raise awareness, was brutally raped by Daniel Lynch soon after meeting him.

He threatened to cut her with a razor and hang her while he also stabbed her in the arms several times.

After he finally released her, she went to get treated at hospital but withheld the nature of her injuries as she was afraid of him.

Just days later, Lynch lured her to an internet cafe to read a message he had sent to her Facebook account. This was a ruse as he had given her location to an accomplice, Stefan Sylvestre, who threw sulphuric acid in her face. Both men were sentenced to life in prison.

[Katie Piper ]

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Katie Piper (Image: PA)

Katie later said: "When the acid was thrown at me, it felt like I was burning in hell. It was an indescribable, unique, torturous pain."

She also revealed how sick trolls would put her picture into AI and ask bots to "make her look normal". She told how people would be an image of her into AI and ask it to "make her normal, perfect, beautiful".

Katie continued: "Is what they did morally or ethically wrong? I don't know. Did it hurt me? No. Would it hurt someone else who didn't have 20 years of rebuilding confidence and self-esteem? Yes, I think it would."

Alongside her books and documentaries, Katie appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018, where, with professional dancer Gorka Marquez, they were the third couple eliminated. She also joined Loose Women in 2021 and was awarded an OBE the following year.

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