Sarah Ferguson has opened up about her controversial public image, saying she's finally 'free' of 'self-sabotaging Sarah.'
Commonly known as Fergie, the mother of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, 61, who resides with her ex-husband Prince Andrew at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, has revealed in the September issue of Town & Country magazine that she still struggles with her body image.
Discussing her royal past, Prince Andrew's ex-wife said she felt her late sister-in-law Princess Diana was always portrayed as a 'saint' while she was the 'sinner,' joking that she was seen as 'bad Fergie'.
The author, whose new Mills & Boon novel Her Heart for A Compass is published on August 3, added that she is proud to still be in the public eye and has 'forgiven' her detractors.
And she said that she's manage to overcome it by taking inspiration from the late Nelson Madela, saying: 'One day I got up and thought, Mandela forgave his persecutors; surely I can forgive and move forward.'
The Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson, 61, pictured, told Town & Country's September issue that she felt 'free' of 'self-sabotaging Sarah' even though she still struggled with the criticism she's received over the years
The former royal admitted she still struggles with her body image after years of having her looks scrutinised in the press.
'When they say you’re the "Duchess of Pork" or you’re "frumpy Fergie", you start believing it,' she said.
'She’s still with me, that person who thinks she’s fat, ugly, and disgusting, and she still has to have her hair done to talk to you, but she’s now not so vocal.
'The truth is, I am 61-years-old and I’m free of the self-sabotaging Sarah,' she said.
Ferguson commonly known as Fergie, pictured with her dog, said she felt the late Princess Diana had always been portrayed as a 'saint,' while she was portrayed as a 'sinner'
She made a comparison with her late sister-in-law Princess Diana, who had more positive press coverage, saying: 'It was always that Diana was portrayed as the saint and I was portrayed as the sinner. Bad Fergie sold an awful lot of papers.'
This bad press only grew worse after the Duchess separated from Prince Andrew in 1992, which led to what is commonly known as 'Toegate,' where pictures of a topless Fergie having her feet kissed by Texan millionaire John Bryan were published in the press.
The photos, which were released when Eugenie and Beatrice were with their father at Balmoral visiting the Queen, are believed to be the reason why Fergie was shunned by the Royal Family.
Years later, in 2010, Fergie was caught up in a 'cash-for-access scandal' where she allegedly promised a businessman to arrange a meeting with Prince Andrew for the sum of £500,000.
Unbeknownst to the Duchess of York at the time, she was being taped by reporters from the now defunct New of the World tabloid. The Duchess later took legal action to clear her name.
She told the magazine her defamation attorney, Paul Tweed, told her: 'I think you probably are the woman in the world who has had more bad front pages than any other.'
'I took it as a huge compliment. I’m really proud that I’m still here,' the Duchess said.
As a result of her royal fall from grace and her frosty relationship with Buckingham Palace, Fergie was not invited to her nephew Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey in 2011.
However, the
