Jeffrey Epstein suggested that Sarah Ferguson should ‘admit her medication abuse and go into rehab’ after she was caught in a cash-for-access sting.
The latest tranche of emails released by the US Department of Justice show the former Duchess of York‘s ‘desperate’ situation was discussed by Epstein and Peter Mandelson following the humiliating newspaper exposé in 2010.
Posing as a wealthy international businessman, undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood – known as the Fake Sheikh – arranged to pay Ms Ferguson for access to her ex-husband Andrew, who was then an influential trade envoy promoting deals for UK firms around the world.
During a secretly filmed meeting at a Mayfair apartment, she demanded a payment of £500,000 to be wired to her HSBC bank account, telling the reporter: ‘That opens up everything you would ever wish for.
‘I can open any door you want, and I will for you. Look after me and he’ll look after you … you’ll get it back tenfold.’
She was later seen bursting into tears as Mahmood handed her a suitcase filled with £40,000 in cash as a down payment.
At 6.30am on the morning the story was published in the News of the World, Epstein emailed his pal Mandelson asking if he’d seen it.
Mandelson replied: ‘Have you watched the video? If Andrew was elected he would have to resign. She’s so desperate I feel sorry for her. But she will not recover from this.’
Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, said she was debt-ridden and ‘spiralling’ when she was caught in a cash-for-access sting, but there is no evidence of medicine addiction
Ms Ferguson was seen bursting into tears after she was handed a suitcase containing £40,000 in cash by undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood
Prince Andrew denied knowing about the deal his ex-wife had made
Do YOU think Fergie’s cash-for-access scandal permanently damaged her reputation?
Responding to Epstein’s suggestion that she should enter rehab, Mandelson said it was ‘an option’ but pointed out it would be ‘awful for her and the girls’, referring to daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, who were aged 22 and 20 at the time.
Epstein also noted that he had spoken to Andrew the day before, adding that he was ‘with friends of mine in a restaurant in Singapore…’
There is no evidence that Ms Ferguson had an addiction to medication or ever attended a rehab unit.
Following Mahmood’s sting, the former royal immediately apologised for a ‘serious lapse in judgment’, blaming her spiralling debts and an addiction to food.
She later told US chat show host Oprah Winfrey: ‘I was so out of control with desperation to the point where I’d reached no return. Sort of out of my mind.
‘[I was] spiralling so out of control [that] I was looking for the quick fixes in places I wouldn’t normally look.
‘Like anybody that goes through an addiction to food, and addiction to goodness knows what … it’s just out-of-control behaviour.’
Separate emails, released by the US Department of Justice, show that Ms Ferguson had tried to start her own ill-fated businesses with advice and backing from Epstein.
In one email from 2009, she enthusiastically updated Epstein on ‘Sarah Ferguson’ branded clothing and fragrances she was hoping to launch with Tommy Hilfiger, plus TV shows and books.
She wrote: ‘In just one week, after your lunch, it seems the energy has lifted. I have never been more touched by a friends [sic] kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.’
The following year, she told him: ‘You are a legend. I really don’t have the words to describe, my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. I am at your service. Just marry me.’
Ms Ferguson was contacted for comment.