SHE'S endured scrutiny and scandal and been mocked for her weight and style to such an extent she suffered mental-health issues and eating disorders.
But Sarah, Duchess of York, aka Fergie, wants the world to know she finally feels comfortable in her own skin and free to speak her mind.
“It ’s liberating,” the 63-year-old says. “It’s like I ’ve taken the mental shackles out of my brain.
“I don’t know whether it’s the queen passing on that I now think I can just sort of say openly what I want to say without worrying I’m going to offend somebody.”
And Fergie has been saying plenty lately as she goes on the publicity trail to promote her latest book, A Most Intriguing Lady – a sweeping historical romance that follows Lady Mary, an aristocrat by day and amateur detective by night.
It’s her second novel for adults after Her Heart for a Compass, which was released in 2021 and is based on the story of her great-great-aunt Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott – a tale she says took 15 years to get out of her head and onto the page.
But Fergie found this one far easier to write, probably because it’s based on herself.
“Lady Mary is me,” she told breakfast show Good Morning America. “She’s cheeky, she’s feisty, she’s rebellious.”
Which does pretty much sum up the fiery redhead. Controversial, characterful, out-there and often overthe-top, she’s in a league of her own – but at the core of it all is a woman with a big heart and one mission in life: to be kind.
“When people ask me what religion I am, I say kindness,” she says.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 23 March 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة 23 March 2023 من YOU South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it