There was nothing regal about the shameful sight of the Duchess of York drinking, smoking and stuffing a bag with cash during a covert meeting with a reporter masquerading as a bogus businessman.
The sting exposed how desperate Sarah Ferguson has become since her business collapsed. Homeless, penniless and humiliated, she was willing to sell access to her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, in exchange for cold, hard cash. But her desperation was apparent months before the scandal broke.
When Woman’s Day’s Phillip Koch spoke to Sarah the day after her 50th birthday party, she revealed in a world exclusive interview that she was almost broke, and that she would always love Prince Andrew.
Video: Fergie tells all – Journalist Gavin Gray joins TODAY from London to report on the British backlash after Sarah Fergusons appearance on Oprah:
It was a broken Sarah Ferguson who walked into the swish Langham Hotel in London to bare her soul to me and admit she had reached the lowest point in an often controversial life.
This was October last year, and the previous night, Fergie had “celebrated” her 50th birthday with her ex-husband, Prince Andrew, their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and 40 close friends and relatives.
But what should have been a joyous occasion was overshadowed by her looming financial crisis, with the London tabloids full of nasty criticism and speculation that Sarah was, once again, in dire straits.
There was a report a legal firm was suing her for unpaid bills, and that her birthday party at the posh Lanesborough Hotel had been “scaled down” because of Fergie’s shrinking budget.
“I’m not allowed to have a credit card,” Sarah told me with trademark frankness before the interview had even begun.
Her younger daughter, Eugenie, ordered champagne and paid for it with her own credit card.
To read Phillip’s full story about interviewing Fergie see this week’s Woman’s Day, on sale May 31, 2010.
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