“Fergie & Andy homeless!” reads the headline of an article published in Woman’s Day this week. The title would have you believe that the Duke and Duchess of York are now without a place to live – because, you know, it explicitly says they’re without a place to live – but the actual story is much less exciting.
Rather, the article concerns the ex-spouses’ ski chalet in Switzerland, which is supposedly the place they and their daughters “truly call home,” and which Prince Andrew and Ferguson are experiencing legal troubles over.
Ferguson and Prince Andrew, the tabloid says, are selling their ski lodge for “$30 million, and have just been hit with a $11 million lawsuit over unpaid debt relating to the property.”
“He’s losing everything from his royal reputation to his home,” says a supposed insider speaking to the outlet, referring to the controversy over the Duke of York’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein. “It’s yet another bad turn for Andrew.”
It’s true that Ferguson and Prince Andrew are currently in a legal dispute over an outstanding payment they owe on that chalet. But, as usual, there’s a lot more about this story that the tabloid gets dead wrong.
First, there’s the bait-and-switch game the headline plays: no, of course the Duke and Duchess of York are not living on the street. It’s also misleading to say that the chalet is the place they and their daughters “truly call home,” because they only purchased it in 2014.
Additionally, Gossip Cop has no idea where the tabloid came up with the number of $11 million, as no other outlet has reported what amount of money they’re being sued for. A spokesperson for Prince Andrew confirmed for reporters that there was a legal dispute, but said that “the contractual details remain the subject of a confidentiality agreement” and would not address specifics of the case. The tabloid is making wild assumptions that it simply has no authority to make.
The recent scandals Prince Andrew has been embroiled in have been a boon to tabloids hungry for salacious gossip to write about, but even on their most boring days the royal family serves as their go-to targets for nonsensical rumors. Woman’s Day is no exception. Last October, Gossip Cop busted the tabloid for falsely claiming that Queen Elizabeth was handing over the crown to Kate Middleton.
In February, it insisted that Princess Anne was making a play for the throne against her Prince Charles. And who could forget about Meghan Markle supposedly having a “meltdown” over not getting enough attention on her son Archie’s birthday? These stories are just ridiculous.