Katie Piper says the man fled a Nobu date after seeing her scars, she paid a £740 bill while on disability

Katie Piper has opened up about a harrowing experience she endured years after surviving one of Britain’s most shocking acid attacks. Speaking candidly at the Hay Festival, the television presenter and philanthropist recalled how a date abandoned her mid-meal at an upscale restaurant—leaving her to foot a £740 bill after seeing her facial scars.

Now 41, Katie Piper was left permanently disfigured after a sulphuric acid attack orchestrated by her ex-boyfriend when she was just 24. The brutal assault caused severe burns across her face, neck, chest, arms, and hands, requiring more than 40 surgeries and years of painful recovery. Despite her incredible resilience, she revealed that the physical and emotional scars continued to affect her dating life.

Recounting the humiliating moment, Piper described meeting a man at a bar. The pair exchanged messages over time and eventually arranged a date at Nobu—a high-end Japanese restaurant in central London. She admitted she’d always felt uncomfortable eating in front of people due to internal injuries from the attack, which left her oesophagus severely damaged. Despite her apprehensions, she agreed.

“It was a summer’s day, and the lighting in the bar was quite dim,” she said. “Because of the pioneering treatments I’d had, sometimes in low light or when people had been drinking, they didn’t fully see what I looked like.”

The man, she said, seemed completely at ease when they met. He took control, selecting the lavish venue and ordering a full three-course meal for them both. But everything changed in an instant.

“He suddenly said, ‘I think I see someone I know—I’ll just pop over and say hi,’” she recounted.

But he never came back.

Piper, who was living on disability benefits at the time, found herself alone with a staggering £740 bill. With no way of contacting the man and no choice but to pay, she was left stunned and humiliated.

The experience laid bare how her scars, though a symbol of survival, continued to shape the way others perceived and treated her.

Katie Piper’s story has resonated with millions since her attack in 2008. Her raw honesty and strength saw her front a Channel 4 documentary, Katie: My Beautiful Face, in 2009, which detailed her journey from victim to survivor. She later launched The Katie Piper Foundation to support burn survivors and those with disfigurements.

In October 2019, she shared a deeply personal photo of her injuries, showing the extent of the horror she endured. Her victim impact statement at the time of her attacker’s conviction laid bare her anguish: “When the acid was thrown at me, it felt like I was burning in hell… All I am left with is an empty shell. A part of me has died that will never come back. This is worse than death.”

Despite such suffering, Piper has rebuilt her life. She’s now a successful TV personality, campaigner, and a happily married mother-of-two.

Her Nobu date may have run from what he couldn’t understand, but Katie Piper continues to stand tall—scarred, yes, but unbroken.