Katie Piper has spoken candidly about her struggle to find love after the acid attack which left her face badly disfigured.
The TV presenter and documentary star described her difficult romantic past in an interview on the Alan Titchmarsh Show yesterday evening (28 October).
Speaking to Alan, she confessed that her confidence was shaken when she was rejected by a date who was put off by her injuries, which she sustained when a vengeful ex arranged to have sulphuric acid thrown in her face, ending her dream of becoming a model.
"He turned up and saw me, he pretended to speak to some friends in the restaurant and he never came back," Katie said..
"It was hard because I'd got to a certain point where I was quite confident and had started to accept my injuries, so I had to tell myself, 'It could be because he found my company really dull and just wanted to get out of there'."
Even after she shot to fame in 2009 after appearing in TV documentary My Beautiful Face, which followed her journey through extensive reconstruction surgery, her romantic woes were not over.
"Sometimes it was actually worse... I found it hard to read the signals, so I'd like somebody and think they liked me, but they were just sort of in awe of the story," Katie added.
Luckily, Katie's dating struggles are all behind her now. She and partner James have been together for two years, and recently became parents to their first child, Belle Elizabeth.
On the show, Katie also spoke of her admiration for working mums, saying: "I have a huge respect for women because I think just having a child is a full time job, it's a responsibility that really never ends."
Having a child has also affected her outlook on the acid attack which changed her life:
"More than ever now I understand how hard it must have been for my parents when everything happened. Having my daughter now, she's just the most precious thing in my life - apart from my partner, of course!"