This article discusses child abuse and disordered eating.
These days, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is known as something of a super mama.
And, from what we can tell, the title is well-earned.
As she toldPeoplein 2021, “I’m self-deprecating and British.
But [one thing] is I’m a really good mom.”
Of course, like any other mother, Sarah faced challenges when raising her two royal daughters.
I would say, ‘Well, I’ve already made those mistakes.'"
Although they were both technically considered commoners, Sarah’s parents were quite the elite crew.
And that’s where Fergie grew up."
And, interestingly, she was particularly said to look up to Susan.
My whole soul" (viaThe Guardian).
Even more tragically, Sarah says that Barrantes would sometimes resort to physical violence to get her to behave.
Naturally, these interactions between Sarah and her mother are understood to have been traumatic.
And, to make matters worse, the young Fergie could not count on her father to intervene.
Sarah told The Sunday Times, “She didn’t know how to be a mummy.”
Ronald Ferguson and Susan Barrantes decided to part ways in 1974.
Given all of these factors, it was pretty clear that Sarah did not cause her parents’ separation.
However, from her own perspective as a teenager, Sarah did not see things that way.
“She had this magical childhood and then, suddenly, it all sort of folded.
She talks about it herself, how that’s when she started to feel very insecure and inadequate.
And she blamed herself for the breakup of her parents' marriage.”
Unfortunately, this sense of guilt had a negative impact on Sarah’s relationship with her mother.
This was especially true when Susan decided to leave her daughters to go marry Barrantes in 1975.
As Sarah would later tell “Loose Women,” at the time, she felt “worthless.”
On the contrary, she actually decided to go off and live in Argentina with her new beau.
From Sarah’s perspective at the time, this felt like abandonment and it was absolutely devastating.
Sarah recalled, “When I was 14 my mother eloped to Argentina with a very good-looking polo player.
She came back for my sister’s wedding.
All in all, this left Sarah feeling unloved and abandoned.
As time went on, Sarah said that her disordered eating habit turned into a full-blown binge eating disorder.
This negative thought motivated her to seek even more comfort in food.
Magazine, the duchess revealed, “I work [on my mental health] literally every day …
I have been in therapy for 24 years.”
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available.
I think she got a lot of strength from having her father solidly behind her.
And, he was very good with her.”
This sort of strength was apparently most evident in the way that Sarah faced life’s challenges head-on.
Fascinatingly, Kay said that this attitude played a major role inSarah’s eventual romance with Prince Andrew.
Right and settle down and the marriage would be for keeps."
In 1988, the couple welcomed Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie followed two years later.
Reflecting on this time in an interview with Hello!
Apparently, these internal struggles haunted Sarah for years.
As she told Hello, “The rot set in with feeling that I was not good enough.”
So I thank her.
She gave me a favor."
Queen Elizabeth II was present for Sarah through thick and thin.
These days, Sarah remembers the late queen as someone who filled a much-needed hole in her life.
She was just 61 at the time of her death.
Since Susan was not wearing her seat belt, she was killed immediately.
Naturally, Sarah was said to be greatly impacted by the death of her mother.
In that sense, Susan’s death was very much Sarah’s worst nightmare.
Magazine), Sarah reflected on the way her upbringing made her into the person who she is today.
She wrote, “I look back now and thank you, forgive you, and love you more.
You gave me the strength to look at life differently.
She then repeated, “I do forgive you completely.”
