Katie Piper has made a marriage confession as she nears almost a decade with her husband, admitting that she hasn’t found it easy sticking in a long-term relationship.

Katie Piper has made a marriage confession as she nears almost a decade with her husband, Richard Sutton(Image: katiepiper/Instagram)

After almost a decade of marriage, Katie Piper and her husband Richard Sutton may seem like a match made in heaven, but the TV star and activist has admitted it’s not as easy as it looks. Making a confession about their long-term relationship, Katie tells Mirror “It’s hard but worth it’.

“I have to be honest because I don’t like to make other people feel bad. I think marriage is actually really hard and when you’re young, you’re told it’s all romance. But I do think it’s partnership and it’s compromising and not being big-headed,” she explains.

Katie continues: “I think marriage is saying, ‘I want to do life with you. Let’s put our lives together because that’s better and easier and more enjoyable.’ I definitely don’t think it’s constant big gestures and romance. I haven’t found it easy to be in a long-term marriage, but I found it worth it, definitely.” Katie’s comments come after pictures emerged of inside her Loose Women co-star Stacey Solomon and Joe Swash’s luxurious £30k family holiday at ‘second home’.

Katie shares two daughters, Belle and Penelope, with Richard, who she married nearly 10 years ago(Image: Katie Piper Instagram)

The Loose Women star shares two daughters, Belle and Penelope, with Richard, who she met in 2013. Explaining how she has been focusing on quality family time with their children over recent years, Katie shares: “It’s hard. I try not to rush through life with the kids because time goes fast. I’m as guilty as any other parent, particularly at bedtime. You might be tired, rushing, and as soon as you put them to bed, you’ve got to go down and do your emails.

“And you can lose your temper at bedtime – you can snap or say things you regret. So I always try not to rush that part of the day. I put my phone on flight mode for those two hours so there aren’t any distractions. I love eating dinner with them – we can chat when we eat. But at home we eat around 4.30pm, so when I’m away for work and people want to go have dinner at 8pm, I’m like, “Guys, I’m going to faint because I normally have dinner at 4.30pm. I’m ready for bed now!”

Katie, who is a survivor of an acid attack carried out by an ex-boyfriend and his accomplice in 2008, rose to prominence for her work as an activist and is now a regular on shows such as Loose Women.

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“I was really happy and proud to be asked to join the panel because what I like about the show is you are not scripted or produced to be a certain character or person – you genuinely are allowed to be your authentic self,” she says of the daytime TV show.

“I think it’s a good platform to express your views and things you’re passionate about. I’ve always watched it as a viewer too so it’s amazing.”

While she isn’t sure whether her children will follow in her showbiz footsteps just yet, she’s prepared to support them every step of the way.

Katie is a regular on the Loose Women panel, something she she says is a ‘privilege’(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

“They’re a good mixture of me and Richie,” she begins. “They both really like reading – and I love reading and writing. My eldest daughter’s a really good singer, which I’m not. But I try not to push them into any particular area. I see what they like and then nurture that. They do have a really good understanding of all the things I do in my life and job. They’ve always volunteered at my charity, so they’ve always met a lot of burn survivors – people who have had life-changing accidents.”

Katie continues: “They’ve probably been exposed to that more than your average seven-year-old or 11-year-old. They’ve been to Loose Women and been on set with me when I’ve made documentaries and things, so they’ve seen a much more unconventional career than most kids have.”

Passionate about their development, Katie is working with vitamin and supplement company Haliborange on their YoungerMinds campaign, something she says is a step in the right direction for children.

“I was really pleased to see what Haliborange were doing with the YoungerMinds range – a supplement supporting emotional wellbeing for kids isn’t something I’ve seen a lot of. I’ve always given my kids multivitamins and vitamin D, but I’ve never seen something that supports the nervous system and psychological function. So this is great for my kids’ sleep and for my eldest, it’s good for her exam stress and hormonal changes,” explains Katie

Katie Piper is partnering with Haliborange YoungerMinds to highlight its digital sleep talk guide at haliborange.com. Check out the product range at boots.com