The Early Days Of Prince Andrew And Sarah Ferguson's Marriage Were More Toxic Than We Realized

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

It's not exactly a secret that Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson's marriage was far from perfect. The pair wed in 1986 and were separated by 1992 before formally divorcing in 1996. Not only that, but Sarah faced intense media scrutiny during her time as the Duchess of York, and hasn't been shy about discussing how marrying into the royal family felt, both good and bad. However, a 2025 biography about the former couple reveals that the early days of the couple's marriage were even more toxic than we thought.

In his book "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York," royal biographer Andrew Lownie claims that Prince Andrew slept with no fewer than 12 women during the first 12 months of his marriage to Sarah. The author attributes this information to one of the Duke of York's former drivers. Lownie's book further alleges that Sarah engaged in several extramarital affairs herself, owing to her loneliness over the fact that Andrew was still in the Navy at the time, and was thus often away from home.

Even more concerning, another one of Lownie's sources claims that Andrew and Sarah's martial spats often became so heightened that they "bordered on "domestic violence." "You have to understand what I am dealing with here," Sarah allegedly told a friend regarding her disagreements with Andrew, adding, "I'm married to a man who has never been inside a supermarket." The book goes onto claim that, in general, Andrew was rather detached during his marriage to Sarah, and could more often be found sitting in front of the TV than anything else.

Ironically, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson appear to have a much better relationship decades post-divorce than they did as a married couple. Over the years, Sarah has slowly but surely worked her way back into the royal family, and even told The Times in late 2024 that she would gladly go back in time and marry Andrew "all over again, 100 percent" if she could, despite his scandals. So, it's not surprising that Sarah seemed to have a rather stiff-upper-lip sort of response to the juicy exposé on Andrew's affairs. However, that's not to say that the Duke of York is entirely out of the woods.

Per the BBC, Andrew Lownie's biography also delves deep into the ties between Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein. On that note, a YouGov poll released around the same time as the book found that Andrew is the least-liked member of the royal family (per The Telegraph). To that end, sources speaking to the publication hinted that Andrew's nephew (and heir to the British throne) Prince William may be inclined to drop the hammer and distance the royal family even further from Andrew once he becomes king, should the Duke of York prove to be too much of a PR liability.

However, this may not go over especially well with Andrew's ex-wife, who clearly believes in a different approach to grappling with the past, partially for the sake of the pair's two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. "I do believe in family unity. And it's called my three C's: communicate. compromise. compassion. I really believe in that," Ferguson told Glamour in 2023, adding, "I think forgiveness is key."