Fergie’s downfall was the result of deep-seated personal insecurities due to the absence of her mother, says expert.

Sarah Ferguson with her mother, Susan Barrantes, at a polo event in Windsor. (Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Tim Graham Photo Library)

The recent release of three million Epstein files has once again cast a harsh new light on the financial dealings of Sarah Ferguson. While she apologized in 2011 for accepting £15,000 (about $20,000) from the disgraced financier, fresh documents suggest a deeper web of debt management and requests for financial advice. Adding more to the ongoing conversation, royal expert Ingrid Seward, who has known the former Duchess for over four decades, has suggested that her ‘downfall’ was not an overnight occurrence, but rather the result of deep-seated personal insecurities due to the absence of her mother.

Sarah Ferguson attends the Perfect World Foundation’s Honorary Conservation Award ceremony on September 05, 2024, in Gothenburg, Sweden. (Image Source: Getty Images | Julia Reinhart)

Speaking to The Mirror, Seward painted a picture of a woman whose ‘bad side’ eventually overwhelmed her likable personality. “She has a massively endearing type of personality,” the royal expert noted, stating, “It’s a tragedy that her bad side has got the stronger hold over her than her good side.” The darker side, Seward claims, was fueled by an obsessive need for luxury that was simply out of her budget. “So the bad side is the greed, the stupidity, and obsessively wanting things. It’s almost like a shopaholic,” the expert observed.

Seward suggested that the former Duchess’s financial recklessness stems from a psychological hole left by her mother, Susan Barrantes, who moved to Argentina with her lover when Ferguson was just a teenager. “I think because her mother left, there is a sort of basic something missing there….There is something missing in her personality. She’s so insecure, which is probably at the root of many of her behaviours,” Seward explained. The former Duchess has herself agreed to this, writing in her 1996 book My Story, Sarah, that her parents’ divorce had a profound effect on her, calling it one of the toughest times of her life.

Sarah Ferguson with her mother, Susan Barrantes, at Wentworth Golf Club for A Charity Golf Match In Aid of Children In Crisis. (Image Source: Getty Images | Tim Graham Photo Library)

This insecurity allegedly resulted in the desperate need to be liked and a refusal to acknowledge her financial state, with the royal expert noting, “Most people would look at the label and say, ‘my God, that’s £19,000,’ or whatever it is, and wouldn’t dream of buying it, but she would buy it.” Back in 2011, the former Duchess had attempted to distance herself from the late financier by calling her association with him a ‘gigantic error of judgement.’ However, the US Department of Justice showcases the former Duchess’s financial desperation, including emails where Epstein is seen discussing her finances with other businessmen, claiming she was often surrounded by “people who take advantage of her.”

Sarah Ferguson waves as she leaves after attending the Easter Mattins Service at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on March 31, 2024, in Windsor, England. (Image Source: Getty Images | Hollie Adams – WPA Pool)

Even with the ongoing controversy, Seward thinks the woman she met years ago is still the same deep down, stating, “She’s not really the girl I knew, but that girl is still there underneath.” Despite the criticism, the former Duchess still publicly honors her mother. “Like all of us, she made mistakes, but she taught me to value each and every day and to always seek to treat people with kindness. I miss her greatly,” the former Duchess wrote in a 2024 Facebook post.