Hit Singer Duffy Explains 10-Year Hiatus Was Due to Trauma

On Tuesday, Duffy, known for her 2008 hit single, “Mercy,” explained her decade-long hiatus from the spotlight. In a vulnerable Instagram post, she said her silence was due to past trauma.

“You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this… Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why,” the singer shared on Instagram. “The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days.”

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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.

A post shared by @ duffy on Feb 25, 2020 at 10:12am PST

Duffy gained fame after releasing her debut album “Rockferry” in 2008, which included the single “Mercy.” Her hiatus began in 2011 after her second album “Endlessly” was released.

In her Instagram post, Duffy said last summer she connected with a journalist and was able to share her experiences. She revealed the interview would be released sometime in the next few weeks.

“You wonder why I did not choose to use my voice to express my pain?” she wrote. “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.”

For those questioning why her recovery process took over 10 years, it’s important to remember recovery takes time and is different for every trauma survivor. As Mighty contributor Caitlin Neumann wrote in her article, “6 Things to Remind Yourself During Trauma Recovery” :

There is no time frame for healing. Many months of my recovery have been spent being crushed by the weight of expectations on the time frame of how fast I “should” heal. Just know that as long as you are doing everything you can to live a full life, that’s what matters. That’s what we’re all doing in life. You are doing what you can at this exact moment in time and that’s enough. That’s OK.

Duffy ended her Instagram post by asking for privacy and respect.

“Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family,” she wrote. “Please support me to make this a positive experience.”