Sarah Ferguson Talks About Being Pitted Against Princess Diana

Ferguson told People magazine that she and the Princess of Wales “were positioned as saint and sinner.”

Sarah Ferguson opened up this week about being pitted against Princess Diana in the tabloids decades ago, and recalled the advice her late friend used to give her.  “In the ’80s, it was Diana looking beautiful, and there was fat, frumpy Fergie,” the Duchess of York told People for the magazine’s cover issue, published Friday. The outlet noted that Ferguson, nicknamed “Fergie,” was sometimes called the “Duchess of Pork” by the tabloids. “We were just there for people to make a lot of money. At the time, we both didn’t realize that,” Ferguson said, adding that she and the Princess of Wales “were positioned as saint and sinner.” “Diana and I both had our own mental health issues, and she and I used to talk,” the duchess continued. “She said, ‘Fergie, remember one thing: When you’re at the top of the pedestal, it’s so easy to fall off. And you’re at the bottom. You just climb up.’” “And the most important thing was to remain robust together, and we did, no matter what anyone wrote,” she added. Princess Diana Archive via Getty Images The Duchess of York and the Princess of Wales during a holiday at the ski resort of Klosters, Switzerland, on March 9, 1988.