POPSTAR Duffy has bravely revealed she was held captive and raped in an emotional Instagram post.
The Welsh singer, 35, opened up about the horror today 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.”
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.”
Duffy rose to fame after her album Rockerry shot to the top of the charts and became the best-selling album in the UK that year.
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.
