Can Fergie and Andrew's secret talks bring them together - or has scandal separated them forever?

She described their relationship as the ‘happiest divorced couple in the world’. But after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lost his titles and his home, Sarah Ferguson appeared to place distance between her and the man she once called 'my rock'.

Last autumn, when Andrew was effectively ordered out of Royal Lodge, Windsor, by King Charles, Sarah let it be known she would not be moving to Norfolk with him. And, after his arrest in February, it was reported she'd told friends, 'When I come back, I am going to have to put some distance between myself and Andrew.'

The message seemed clear - she was cutting him off.

But while this is the public narrative she's adopting, to try to avoid being finished by the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, it's my understanding that this is far from the truth.

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I can reveal she has been in close touch with her disgraced former husband, both before and after his arrest on his 66th birthday, at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate.

A source told me, ‘Sarah has been out of the UK since the start of the year and so hasn't seen Andrew, but has been in constant contact by phone.

‘Some of it, of course, was panicking about the latest Epstein files that have been released, but also to provide support and comfort to him at a very dark time.

'She has told him he's a great man, who has always been honourable and done his duty. He still maintains he's done nothing wrong - and she is happy, however delusional that may seem, to reflect that back to him, as ultimately they're in this together.

They will forever be inexorably tied, due to their friendship with Epstein.'

Sarah, 66, spent much of January at the £13,000-a-day Paracelsus Recovery Clinic in Zurich, Switzerland, and was then reported to have spent time with Princess Eugenie in Qatar, before moving to the Ballyliffin Lodge & Spa in County Donegal, Ireland.

She has gone to ground while the fallout from Andrew's arrest, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, continues.

It has also been reported that she has told friends she needs to ‘get back to work' and earn money – and thus needs to escape reputational damage.

But frankly, I think it's probably too late for that.

Recent reports have suggested that US publishers have snubbed a £1.5 million book deal with Fergie - as no-one wants to be seen to be cashing in on the Epstein scandal.

Plus, the Epstein files clearly reveal her begging him for money - for flights for her and ‘the girls' (club for Beatrice and Eugenie, but always first class for her), paying off her debts, or making financial investments into her businesses.

As a joke (I assume and hope) Sarah even asked Epstein to marry her, after he had been jailed for child sex offences.

Sarah and Andrew separated in 1992 after six years of marriage, and divorced in 1996, but always maintained they were great friends. Since 2006 they have shared a home at Royal Lodge - with Fergie only moving out last autumn, and reportedly driven back in, lying down in the back of a car, to visit Andrew.

Their continued closeness often prompted speculation that they would rekindle their relationship, but Sarah has described them as their own form of ‘fairy tale' and a ‘united family'.

Promoting her Mills & Boon novel, Her Heart for a Compass, on Lorraine in 2021, Sarah said, ‘[Family unity] is very important for anyone watching. Communicate, compromise, compassion - those are the three Cs that are essential.'

Could Sarah ever move back in with Andrew? I doubt it somehow. She may be holding secret talks with Andrew over how they get over this latest 'bump', but the reality is that the House of York is now toxic.

Whatever is decided by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service over whether to charge Andrew or not, things will never be the same.

The King has cut them off from the monarchy, to try to desperately preserve the institution's reputation. There'll be no more public outings with the family - and the King hasn't even been to see his brother in private.

Andrew denies any wrongdoing from his association with Epstein. But it's safe to say that both Andrew and Fergie are off the Christmas card list forever.

This feature first appeared in Woman magazine. Subscribe now and get your first 6 issues for £1.