Here's the Scandalous Story That Reportedly Ruined Sarah Ferguson’s Marriage with Prince Andrew

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were married to for 10 years before a Royal scandal ended their marriage. A photo of Ferguson cheating allegedly caused everything to fall apart.

Prince Andrew and Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson’s love-story played out like a fairytale. They actually met when they were just children, according to Ferguson’s 1996 autobiography, “My Story: Sarah, Duchess of York.”

She revealed in it that they would sneak away from her father’s polo matches to "play tag with like-minded truants – including Prince Andrew, who was just my age.” However, with time the pair lost touch.

Princess Diana was responsible for bringing them back together when she invited Ferguson to a party at Windsor Castle. The pair began dating and announced their engagement soon afterward.

"Lawyers acting for the Duchess of York initiated discussions about a formal separation."

In 1986, the couple married in a highly publicized Royal wedding and stayed so for 10 years. Reports state that their marriage problems started in 1991, a year after the birth of their second daughter Princess Eugenie.

At the time the prince had a Navy career and the couple would spend months apart. It’s stated that in the first five years of their marriage they spent around 40 days apart in a year.

In 1992 the Palace announced that they’d separated. The statement read in part: “…Last week, lawyers acting for the Duchess of York initiated discussions about a formal separation for the Duke and Duchess.

It further explained:

“These discussions are not yet completed and nothing will be said until they are. The Queen hopes that the media will spare the Duke and Duchess of York and their children any intrusion."

It was later revealed that an alleged affair was the cause of their breakup. Ferguson was initially pictured with American playboy Steve Wyatt on holiday in Morocco.

At the time, the pair were seen by a pool and Ferguson had her arm around Wyatt. What knocked the nail in the coffin, according to reports, was when she was photographed wearing a bikini and lounging in the sun with her toes in the mouth of Texan financial advisor John Bryan.

There were also images that showed the two kissing and cuddling in their swimwear. In 2002, “People” magazine’s senior editor Anne-Marie O’Neill said: “The tabloids had such a good time with it that it really was the first time that the royal family was opened up to such ridicule."

However, in 2011, Ferguson confessed that she hadn’t wanted a divorce, but went along with it because of “circumstance.” She also revealed one of the conversations she had with the Queen when the divorce was decided.

Ferguson said:

"When I met with Her Majesty about it, she asked, 'What do you require, Sarah?' and I said, 'Your friendship,' which I think amazed her because everyone said I would demand a big settlement.”

She explained her odd request stating:

"But I wanted to be able to say, 'Her Majesty is my friend'— not fight her nor have lawyers saying, 'Look, she is greedy.' I left my marriage knowing I'd have to work. I have."

Royal biographer, Tina Brown released her 2007 book “The Diana Chronicles” where she spoke about how Ferguson handled the divorce. She wrote: “The poor girl was so distraught that she had a meltdown coming home. On the plane from Miami, journalists watched her knocking back champagne, throwing wet towels, peanuts and tissues around, and placing a sick bag over her head into which she reportedly made strange ‘telephone noises.’”

Despite the scandal and subsequent divorce in May 1996, Ferguson and Andrew remained close and have been seen at a number of events. Some believe that there’s a romance building up again between the former Duke and Duchess of York who is also parents to Princess Beatrice.

Things settled in 2008 when Ferguson moved in with Andrew and their daughters at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. Last November Andrew’s ex-wife revealed that they were “happy with the way we are right now.”