Sarah Ferguson Recalls Comparisons To Princess Diana: It Was 'Trauma'
By Emily Lee
July 15, 2021
Sarah 'Fergie' Ferguson, the Duchess of York, is the cover star of the most recent edition of People. While chatting with the magazine, Prince Andrew's ex-wife recalled the negative treatment she received from the tabloids following her royal wedding. One of the worst aspects, she recalled, was being compared to her late sister-in-law and childhood friend Princess Diana.
While Princess Diana was hounded by the paparazzi, as well, she was often complimented on her looks and glamourous style. Duchess Sarah, however, was dubbed the "Duchess of Pork" by the tabloids.
"I had major mental health problems because of the trauma," she recalled. "It's taken a great deal of work because I believed every word that the front pages told me. It was self-shame. I'm stratospherically sensitive."
"In the '80s, it was Diana looking beautiful, and there was fat, frumpy Fergie," she continued. "We were just there for people to make a lot of money. At the time we both didn't realize that."
Though they were often pitted against one another in the tabloids, Diana and Sarah stuck together behind the scenes. "Diana and I both had our own mental health issues, and she and I used to talk," she revealed. "She said, 'Fergie, remember one thing: When you're at the top of the pedestal, it's so easy to fall off. And you're at the bottom. You just climb up.' We were positioned as saint and sinner. And the most important thing was to remain robust together, and we did, no matter what anyone wrote."
The Duchess of York also shut down rumors that she had Diana had a falling out before her tragic passing. "We were best friends from when she was 14 and I was 15. She taught me so much of public life," she recalled. "She was so brave. We used to have the most incredible time together."
"We promised each other we would always be together — there was never any daylight between us," Fergie continued. "But everybody wanted that because we were so strong together. People want to break something so strong."