Sarah Ferguson on Bribery Scandal: I was Out of Control with Desperation
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Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson explains what led her to accept a cash deal in exchange for offering access to her ex-husband Prince Andrew, saying that it was her substantial debt and her desire to help a friend who was in need of $38,000.
The Duchess of York was caught on camera accepting $40,000 and setting up a deal to receive more money if she would arrange an introduction to the Prince. The man said he was a huge businessman from India but was in fact a News of the World employee. Ferguson tells Oprah Winfrey she suspected he was a journalist and asked him to complete a confidentiality agreement of which he put off signing. Ferguson recalls being at the meeting, saying, "I remember as I was sitting there, I was really down to tears."
She says of going through with the deal, "I was so out of control with desperation. ... I was looking for quick fixes in the places I wouldn't normally look." Ferguson adds, "I think I've been a huge over-trusting, idiotic, stupid woman."
Looking back, she says she would go bankrupt any day then go back to being that person on the tape. She refers to herself on that day as "just a shell." The Duchess mentions several times that she's caught in the "treadmill of life" and at one point calls it "chronic abuse" to herself.
"This is what you get to when you don't face your demons," she tells Oprah. "I have through my actions hurt millions of people. ... I will beg for forgiveness."
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