Brave Duffy’s father hinted at her sadness in an unpublished interview a year before she revealed her horrific rape ordeal.
The singer – real name Aimee Anne Duffy – opened up about being drugged, raped and held hostage for days by an unidentified man after finding fame with her award-winning first album Rockferry.
But soon after her second record Endlessly flopped, Duffy withdrew from the public eye and became a virtual recluse, with fans left perplexed and saddened by her lack of new music.
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Aside from a handful of social media pictures – most of them throwbacks – posted over the last few years, and the inclusion of her song Whole Lot Of Love, on the soundtrack of the 2015 film Legend, Duffy has quietly lived out her life at home.
However, that all changed on Monday night, hours after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape, when Duffy dropped her brave statement about her own horrendous attack.
In a rare unpublished interview last year, Duffy’s dad John Duffy hinted she had been battling her own demons, MailOnline reports.
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Speaking about her “quiet period”, John said: “She has never stopped writing music. It’s what she’s always done. She just hasn’t been in the public eye lately.
“She’s got a lot going for her. It’s up to her what she does and I’ll always support her and back her decisions. She is my flesh and blood.”
He said he is in touch with his daughter regularly but didn’t wish to talk about where she was living.
John confirmed Duffy hasn’t been in a relationship since splitting from her Wales Rugby player beau Mike Phillips in 2011.
“She’s not involved with anyone at the moment. I can assure you she hasn’t had any kids,” he said.
And asked whether his daughter would be making her comeback soon, John added: “No, I can’t speak. No good would come of it.”
Duffy and Mike were together for just under two years, during which time she described him as the love of her life.
Then 26, the singer said he’d helped her navigate her way through overnight success.
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“Life had got so complicated. I found it difficult to operate in the music industry as a 25-year-old woman,” she said in early 2011.
“I couldn’t make a decision because apparently I was very ‘tired’ and ’emotionally drained’. So I did think, ‘Maybe I won’t do this at all’.”
Speaking at the time about her love for Mike, she went on: “There are just so many things about us that are similar.
“And he makes me laugh. He’s devilishly handsome – and cheeky – and I just enjoy him so much, like a treat.”
She added: “Without sounding corny, the closest I’ve got to a home is Michael.
“When I’m with him, my shoulders drop and I can breathe.”
Their split came later that year after months of arguments and uncertainty over the direction of his career after he moved to France to play for Bayonne.
Mike is now married to another woman who he says “prefers the quiet life”. They live in Dubai with their baby son, after he retired from professional rugby in 2017.
