Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson have weathered many storms together, but one marital disaster was said to be so brutal it tore their relationship apart
They defied all odds by living together for decades after divorce, but Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s love story was far from conventional long before they split.
Fergie famously described them as the ‘world’s happiest divorced couple,’ boasting about the benefits of cohabiting together in Royal Lodge and co-parenting Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice with ease. But it all came crumbling down when Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein ultimately shattered their lavish life of excess and royal perks. Andrew vehemently denies all claims against him.
Sarah was caught in the scandal too, having accepted money from the late billionaire paedophile, once calling him a “supreme friend” and even allegedly taking her daughters to visit him. Both her and Andrew were found to have decieved the Palace on exactly when they each cut ties with Epstein, and were thus stripped of their titles and booted out of the crumbling Lodge.
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The former couple are said to be spending their last days in their shared home having dinners and lunches together, talkng about their next steps. Sources claim Andrew spends a lot of his time alone, wandering around the vast property “ranting to himself”. Meanwhile, Fergie apparently holes up in the bar on-site, pouring her heart out to staff and friends as she fears for her future.
It’s by no means the first scandal Andrew and Sarah have weathered, with one marital disaster sealing the fate of their marriage. Andrew and Sarah have actually known each other since they were children but it wasn’t until 1985 that they started dating after being seated together at Royal Ascot that year.
They got engaged nine months later on February 19, 1986 – his 26th birthday – with Andrew presenting his wife-to-be a beautiful ruby engagement ring. Their wedding took place at Westminster Abbey on 23 July 1986 and two years later, they welcomed their first child, Princess Beatrice, followed by Princess Eugenie in 1990. But cracks had begun to appear in their relationship. Andrew’s naval career saw him away from the family for long periods of time.
Fergie later claimed she spent eight months of her first pregnancy alone, once telling Rosie magazine that Prince Philip forbade her from living with her naval husband wherever he was stationed. Speaking to US TV host Ernie Manouse in 2010, she said: “My deal was that I was marrying my man, who happened to be a prince and a naval officer. But what I got was not the man, I got the palace and didn’t get him. For our marriage, I saw him 40 days a year.”
It was that loneliness that apparently saw Sarah fall into the arms of another man. The Duchess was in her third year of marriage and pregnant with Eugenie when she is said to have met American Steve Wyatt. They reportedly crossed paths in 989 at Houston Grand Opera’s British Opera Festival, and quickly fell for each other. It was later claimed that Steve, not Andrew, was the ‘love of her life’ and that she fell ‘head over heels’ in love with him. “Steve Wyatt was the main reason for the breakdown of her marriage,” claimed David Leigh, co-author of The Duchess of York uncensored.
And according to a former friend Dr Allan Starkie, it wasn’t long before Andrew realised what Sarah had been up to. Writing in his memoir ‘Fergie – Her Secret Life,’ the ex pal claims there was a difficult moment between the couple when the former prince found out. He writes: “Leaving Harry’s Bar in Mayfair after a party, Sarah tripped and fell. The normally courteous Andrew walked resolutely on, leaving his seven-month pregnant wife to pick herself up and chase after him.”
Sarah allegedly continued her fling with Steve, but it wasn’t meant to be and he got engaged to Cate Magennis, leaving Fergie heartbroken. Then all hell broke loose in August 1992 when Fergie was pictured having her toes sucked by her American financial advisor John Bryan – Steve’s close friend – as they soaked up the sun in the South of France.
She would later insist she didn’t actually want a divorce from Andrew, but from that point on the choice was taken out of her hands. The royal couple separated in January 1992 with the Queen confirming their parting in a tense statement.
It read: “In view of the media speculation which the Queen finds especially undesirable during the general election campaign, Her Majesty is issuing the following statement…
“Last week, lawyers acting for the Duchess of York initiated discussions about a formal separation for the Duke and Duchess. These discussions are not yet completed and nothing will be said until they are.
Andrew also reportedly embarked on a huge number affairs. “According to his former driver, the duke had slept with ‘more than a dozen women before their first anniversary’,” royal author Andrew Lownie writes.
While Fergie and Andrew’s relationship remained uniquely amicable – with family holidays and joint appearances continuing unabated – her banishment from the royal fold was swift and savage.
The Queen’s sister Princess Margaret even penned a brutal note accusing her of doing, “more to bring shame on the family than could ever have been imagined.”
“Not once have you hung your head in embarrassment even for a minute after those disgraceful photographs. Clearly you have never considered the damage you are causing us all. How dare you discredit us like this?” she wrote.
And while the Queen was believed to have forgiven her, Prince Philip’s wrath was equally as ferocious through to his final days. He was apparently distinctly unexcited about coming face-to-face with his former daughter-in-law when Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in Windsor in 2018.
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