Sarah Ferguson is believed to be to have fled to Ireland to a wellness retreat to escape the Jeffrey Epstein files controversy.
The Duchess of York is understood to be in Ballyliffin in Donegal and staying at the Ballyliffin Lodge & Spa. According to UK reports, Sarah has not been seen publicly since September just days before the release of the files relating to Jeffrey Epstein.
It has been speculated that she had fled the UK, with reports she has been in the United Arab Emirates as well as staying at a Swiss wellness retreat since she became embroiled in the scandal over five months ago.
Sarah Ferguson attends the Andrea Bocelli “Notti Toscane” Event on July 28, 2025 in Forte dei Marmi, Italy. Pic: Getty Images
But now, Sarah is believed to be in Donegal staying at the luxurious four-star retreat, with a source telling EVOKE that Sarah has a pal who she visits in Donegal.
‘She has been up in that neck of the woods before. She has a friend up there.’
Insiders told the Daily Mail that she had been spotted at Donegal airport earlier this month, with an insiders telling the publication that Sarah previously told people Donegal was an escape to her ‘when things were overwhelming.’
She stayed at Ballyliffin Lodge & Spa previously in 2024, posting on TikTok a clip of her filming from a local beach saying: ‘I find things get sometimes overwhelming, I just try and take myself off to the most beautiful, wonderful blast of fresh air.’
Fergie in a Tik Tok post on a beach in Donegal in 2024. Pic: Sarah Ferguson/TIKTOK
The Duchess previously opened up about how Ireland is her ‘sanctuary’ that ‘saved her life.’
In 2005, she revealed she wanted to be buried in Wicklow, saying at the time: ‘Ireland gave me back my life’ after the breakdown of her marriage to Andrew.
The former wife of Prince Andrew said at the time that she had wanted to be buried at Powerscourt House, home of her great-grandmother, Viscountess Powerscourt. Her mother, Susan Wright, was also raised amid the splendour of the sprawling estate.
‘The Irish people gave me back my life and I feel very strongly that I went back to the core values.
‘I think that is why I feel so comfortable in Ireland because the Irish people accept Sarah as Sarah instead of trying to make her into anything else,’ she confessed candidly at the time.