Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s relationship has been plagued by scandal, but what’s the real scoop behind the pair, who is widely known as the world’s ‘happiest divorced couple’?
Here’s a rundown of how Prince Andrew found his unconventional “happily ever after” in Fergie, who refused to leave his side through their many ups and downs.
1985-1986: Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s whirlwind love
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson ran in the same circles since early childhood, but it was Princess Diana who first saw the spark.
Andrew, who by the mid-80s had earned himself the nickname “Randy Andy,” found himself falling for Sarah when they were seated next to each other at a luncheon at Windsor Castle in June 1985.
The night was a riot for the two, kicking off their whirlwind romance. In her book Finding Sarah, the Duchess of York wrote, “Together we were like well-matched bookends, pleasant to look at and equally supportive of one another.”
Soon after that they got engaged in March 1986 with Andrew famously saying, “I know that the decision I made to marry Sarah was, and always will be, the best decision I have made.”
They were wed at Westminster Abbey on July 23, 1986, in a ceremony watched by 500 million people worldwide.
1988-1990: The blissful years
The couple enjoyed marital bliss for the first couple of years, and then embarked on parenthood when Sarah gave birth to their first daughter, Princess Beatrice, on August 8, 1988.
Royal life proved hard for the couple, with Andrew away with the Royal Navy for months. Sarah noted in her book, “During the first five years of our marriage, I saw my beloved Andrew only forty days a year.”
Sarah and Andrew then welcomed their second daughter, Princess Eugenie, on March 23, 1990.
1992-1996: ‘Annus Horribilis’
With the start of a new decade came problems for the couple; Andrew and Sarah’s relationship was famously on the rocks, thanks to Duke of York’s absence.
Amidst torrid rumours of affairs, the Duke and Duchess of York announced their separation in March 1992, one of many in a year famously denounced as “annus horribilis” by the late Queen Elizabeth.
Soon after the announcement, Sarah’s royal reputation was marred irreparably after scandalous photos of her and financial advisor John Bryan were published by The Daily Mirror.
The couple was officially divorced by 1996. However, it is pertinent to note that Sarah and Andrew continued to live together, along with their daughters, at their royal estate despite their separation and divorce.
Fergie famously shared, “We always say we are the most contented divorced couple in the world. We’re divorced to each other, not from each other.”
2010-2025: Rock solid support
The couple remained marred with scandal; in 2010, News of the World published a report claiming that an indebted and drunk Fergie promised a ‘fake Sheikh’, in reality an undercover journalist, access to Prince Andrew for £500,000.
Even this bombshell could not drive a wedge between the couple, with Sarah Ferguson issuing a public apology, and Andrew sticking by her side.
“After the Fake Sheikh scandal, Andrew was my champion, my total champion. He is steadfast and loyal and true. He has always seen the real Sarah — which is why he still loves me as much as he does,” Sarah wrote in her book.
She then returned the favor ten-folds to Prince Andrew, when his longtime friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was exposed, and he was embroiled in a sex scandal.
He eventually settled out of court with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, and subsequently lost his royal patronages and military titles.
Talking to Good Morning America, the mother-of-two publicly pledged her undying support to her ex-husband, saying, “We’ve been there for each other—you know, when I’ve gone through really bad times in the past, Andrew’s always been there. He is exceptionally kind, and he is a very, seriously good grandfather…”
To simply put, Sarah said, “We’re a very strong family unit. No one can break the York family.”
