Royals

Sarah, Duchess of York, opens up about her battle with eating disorders

“I wanted to make myself as beautiful and thin as Princess Diana.”
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York has revealed she once wished she suffered from bulimia, as she struggled with an ongoing addiction to food.

Sarah Ferguson, 57, who was once cruelly dubbed ‘The Duchess of Pork,’ made the surprising admission in a podcast interview with Dr Vijay Murthy — an ayurvedic doctor and naturopath.

“To wish you could have a mental illness to that level is a very serious place to get to,” she said.

“I was a binge-eater. I never could get bulimia because I just didn’t have that mental state to go that far, but I always wished I could.”

“But that just shows you how dangerous and what place I got to. To wish you could have a mental illness to that level is a very serious place to get to.”

She added: “My body and mind was in that place, but I couldn’t actually act out to make myself sick. I then grew and grew and grew.”

Sarah is pictured with her two children — Princess Beatrice (L) and Princess Eugenie (R).

Sarah, Prince Andrew’s former wife, confessed that much of her motivation came from wanting to be as “beautiful and thin” as her then sister-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales. Of course, the much-loved royal is believed to have suffered from bulimia nervosa.

“I tried, but of course it never went that way,” she said.

The Duchess, who spoke largely of her amazing recovery during the interview, said she hoped to be a “human bridge” for others who suffer from eating disorders.

She also has ambitions to establish a franchise of kindergartens around the world to teach children about healthy eating and develop a line of nutritional sauces.

Diana and Fergie were believed to be great friends.

They were often pictured side-by-side at lavish royal events.

It’s no doubt an exciting time for the mother-of-two, as it’s widely-speculated her daughter, Princess Eugenie, may soon become engaged to her boyfriend-of-seven-years Jack Brooksbank.

While the pair aren’t running down the aisle just yet, they’re definitely heading in the right direction.

Last year, Jack was invited to join the royal family at Queen Elizabeth’s Balmoral estate in Scotland – a very telling sign that he’s been accepted into the family.

If you, or someone you know, is struggling with body image issues or an eating disorder, call The Butterfly Foundation on 1800 334 673 for support.

Loading the player...

Related stories