According to Heat, Katie Price wants her ex-husbands Kieran Hayler and Peter Andre to pay her back the alleged ‘two million’ that she spent on being in relationships with them.
A source told The Sun, '[Katie has] told both of them that she expects some cash from them as she bankrolled them for years when they were married.
‘She was always the money-earner, while they enjoyed her millions. Now the shoe's on the other foot, she doesn't see why they wouldn't help her out.’
Anyway, at first glance the idea of invoicing your exes after you’ve broken up might sound a bit extreme. But when you really think about it, maybe Price has got a point. A bit like Mariah Carey’s iconic move from 2016, where she said she wanted her ex to pay her a $50m ‘inconvenience fee’ after their break-up.
Obviously we don’t know why Price and Andre broke up, or while Hayle and Price went their separate ways (apart from the allegations that he slept with her two best friends and their nanny). But whatever the reason, doesn’t the idea of people who you’ve split up with having to give you back all the money you spent on them sound quite appealing?
Perhaps there could be a bonus system, too. A sort of mean boyfriend reparation program. If he cheated then he has to tack on a fee, if he gaslighted you or lied extensively that’ll incur a fine as well.
Admittedly we’re suggesting this with our tongues firmly in our cheek, but it’s understandable that Katie Price feels this way, and that other women might share her feelings. When a relationship falls apart and you stand there surveying the wreckage, it’s common to feel that you’ve poured time, love and energy in, and yet been left with nothing despite having given everything.
In Price's case, the money she allegedly wants from her exes is to cover the spending that she did during their relationship (which sadly, legally, you have no claim on unless you agreed so in writing).
But what about the other investments you make during the time you're married or dating someone?
Women do on average 2.6 times more unpaid domestic labour than men. Emotional labour is a trickier thing to quantify and define, though experts [agree that the majority](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/08/women-gender-roles-sexism-emotional-labor-feminismfeminism) of it does fall to women, and that it’s one of the final major frontiers for feminism.
So, if you were in a long term relationship with someone whose poor behaviour absorbed your life, why not put together an invoice for what they owe you? Work out whatever your day rate, or hourly rate is, and then get busy with a calculator to work out how much they owe you.
Of course they’re not going to pay it (unless you once dated Christian Grey). But in doing so you’ll have spent some time reflecting on how many hours of your life you expended on someone who wasn’t ultimately worth that investment.
No, you’re not going to get a cheque for your time. But you will have looked your unpaid emotional labour straight in the eye and confronted the reality that if you’d placed that time and energy elsewhere, you might have achieved something far more valuable. So next time you’re tempted to return to your ex, or start up with someone similar,you can take a look at that invoice and say ‘thank you, next’.
[READ MORE: How did Katie Price go from the Nation's sweetheart to bankrupt? ](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/08/women-gender-roles-sexism-emotional-labor-feminismfeminism)