SINGER Duffy's dad hinted at her personal trauma in an unpublished interview a year before she bravely told how she'd been been held captive and raped.
The Welsh singer, 35, shared an emotional Instagram post with fans this week in which she said she'd been held been drugged and kept against her will at some point in the last decade.
Last year her father John, from Nefyn, on the Llyn Peninsula, was asked what his daughter was doing, having seemingly disappeared following the disappointing response to her second album Endlessly in 2010.
The Mail Online reports that he said: "She has never stopped writing music. It's what she's always done. She just hasn't been in the public eye lately.
"She’s got a lot going for her. It’s up to her what she does and I'll always support her and back her decisions. She is my flesh and blood."
John refused to disclose where Duffy, who once lived in a £12million Kensington penthouse, was living but confirmed he was in regular contact with her.
Duffy split from Welsh rugby ace Mike Phillips in 2011, and John confirmed she was single, adding: "I can assure you she hasn't had any kids."
John stopped short of shedding any light on a possible musical comeback after Duffy posted on Instagram in 2017 that she would "soon" return.
He told the journalist: "No, I can't speak. No good would come of it."
Duffy received an outpouring of love after she revealed her rape ordeal.
The Welsh star opened up about the horror to her 22,000 followers as she told how her heart was left "broken".
Duffy, who shot to fame with album Rockferry in 2008, wrote: "You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. The way I would write it, how I would feel thereafter.
"Well, not entirely sure why now is the right time, and what it is that feels exciting and liberating for me to talk. I cannot explain it. Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why.
"A journalist contacted me, he found a way to reach me and I told him everything this past summer. He was kind and it felt so amazing to finally speak.
"The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days. Of course I survived.
"The recovery took time. There’s no light way to say it. But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine."
Duffy's moving Instagram statement in full
You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. The way I would write it, how I would feel thereafter. Well, not entirely sure why now is the right time, and what it is that feels exciting and liberating for me to talk. I cannot explain it.
Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why. A journalist contacted me, he found a way to reach me and I told him everything this past summer. He was kind and it felt so amazing to finally speak.
The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days. Of course I survived. The recovery took time. There’s no light way to say it. But I can tell you in the last decade, the thousands and thousands of days I committed to wanting to feel the sunshine in my heart again, the sun does now shine.
You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain? I did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes. I asked myself, how can I sing from the heart if it is broken? And slowly it unbroke.
In the following weeks I will be posting a spoken interview. If you have any questions I would like to answer them, in the spoken interview, if I can. I have a sacred love and sincere appreciation for your kindness over the years. You have been friends. I want to thank you for that x
Duffy
Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family. Please support me to make this a positive experience.
The Warwick Avenue singer told her fans she chose not to "express my pain" through singing as she "did not want to show the world the sadness in my eyes".
Duffy added: "I asked myself, how can I sing from the heart if it is broken? And slowly it unbroke."
She explained she would be posting an interview in the future and would like to answer any questions.
The brave singer finished the statement – posted alongside a black and white image of herself – by saying: "I have a sacred love and sincere appreciation for your kindness over the years. You have been friends. I want to thank you for that.
"Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family. Please support me to make this a positive experience."
Duffy has now been praised by fans for opening up in the moving statement.
One wrote: "Well done. I’m happy for you being able to speak your mind on this."
While another said: "Duffy, without a doubt, you are a very strong person! and nobody deserves to go through that! I send you a lot of love and that you succeed. We will always be waiting for you."
Her message to survivors: You are not alone
By Katie Russell, of Rape Crisis England
WHAT Duffy has done will send a message to other survivors that they are not alone, and may even give some the confidence to talk about their own experience.
When someone in the public eye chooses to talk about their experience, it is very powerful.
Under the law, a person who has been raped or sexually assaulted has the right to lifelong anonymity.
Some people waive that right in order to send a message of solidarity to other survivors.
The vast majority of women who are raped or sexually assaulted don’t tell anyone at the time. Some may never tell anyone else.
The vast majority don’t report what happened to the police, and many take a long time to seek out support.
This is for lots of different reasons, including the impact of the trauma itself, which can cause people to be emotionally numbed.
It can cause memory impairment and post-traumatic stress symptoms. A lot of survivors feel ashamed or they blame themselves.
Duffy talks of wanting to regain the sunshine in her heart and that she didn’t want the world to see the sadness in her eyes.
It’s not unusual for a survivor to hide themselves away.
The impact will vary for each person, but they may find they no longer enjoy activities they used to, or feel able to go about their lives as they did before.
They may suffer depression, anxiety and anger, and they may turn to drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Talking about what happened can help to start the healing process.
We would urge anyone who has been raped or sexually assaulted to contact the Rape Crisis helpline, where they can talk completely anonymously and be heard and believed.
If someone is struggling and feels they can’t talk to anyone else in their life, it might be a really useful first step.
- For support, visit rapecrisis.org.uk or call 0808 802 9999
Duffy rose to fame after her album Rockferry shot to the top of the charts and became the best-selling album in the UK that year, shifting nine million copies.
It also landed her a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and three BRIT Awards the following year.
Two years later, the Mercy singer released her second album Endlessly before taking a break from music.
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