Sarah Ferguson is reportedly plotting a comeback to public life after fleeing the country amid continuing revelations about her friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After weeks of speculation with her whereabouts unknown, the former Duchess of York, 66, is said to have spent a few days with friends in the French Alps and is now in the United Arab Emirates, according to the Daily Mail. There, she has been spending time with her younger daughter, Princess Eugenie, who was this week spotted attending the Basel art fair in Doha, Qatar, in her capacity as director of art gallery Hauser & Wirth.
A source told the Mail that Fergie, as she is sometimes known, is lying low while she "gets her head together" and is looking for a new PR team ahead of her big return - all without her ex-husband Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Sarah is said to have told her friends: "I need to get back to work. I need money", according to the paper, and: "When I come back I am going to have to put some distance between myself and Andrew".
The former couple were previously known to be on exceptionally good terms and lived together at Royal Lodge in Windsor, even three decades after their split. Sarah even once described them as the "happiest divorced couple in the world" and repeatedly came to Andrew's defence in public. But the recent revelations, which saw Sarah ask Epstein to "just marry me" even after he'd been convicted, have clearly taken their toll.
© GettyHELLO! has reached out to representatives for Sarah Ferguson for comment.
Where is Sarah Ferguson going to live now?
While Andrew has left his Royal Lodge home in Windsor and moved temporarily to Wood Farm Cottage in Sandringham, his former wife's living arrangements are less unclear.
However, a source told HELLO! last month that Sarah will not be joining Andrew when he moves to Norfolk. "She has stood by him all these years but is now ready to spread her wings," they said. "She won't be moving in with him to the new house on the Sandringham Estate. She won't be moving into Beatrice's Cotswolds home though. Eugenie's home in Portugal is a contender while she finds somewhere."
© Alamy Stock PhotoIn December, PEOPLE magazine reported that she had been "looking for a place in Windsor".
Sarah's work in doubt
Though she has reportedly said that "I need work", it's unclear where Sarah will be able to go next. The revelations have had consequences for Sarah's work, and she was dropped by a series of charities last year after previous revelations about her ties to Epstein.
These included Julia's House, a children's hospice in Corfe Mullen, and food allergy charity The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. They also included Prevent Breast Cancer, the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Children's Literacy Charity and The British Heart Foundation.
It means the former Duchess has not been seen in the public eye for months, with events, charity work and public appearances dwindling entirely. Sarah also faced backlash in October after private emails revealed she had called Epstein a "supreme friend" and issued a grovelling apology after denouncing him in a public interview.
