Fergie and Andrew's 'true relationship' revealed after 'happiest divorced couple' claim

Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's "true relationship" has been revealed after her previous claim that they were the "happiest divorced couple". Royal author Andrew Lownie has appeared to rebuke Sarah's previous comment by sharing that their relationship is not as it seems.

Mr Lownie - who has recently released an updated version of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York

, told HELLO! that the claim of them being the happiest divorced couple "was always a bit of a myth". He also revealed that when the former couple lived at Royal Lodge, which they were from earlier this year, Fergie "had her own set of apartments" at the opposite end of the house.

He also added that "although they did meet and speak on the phone, I don't think there was much contact."

Before concluding Mr Lownie also said: "They were kind of joined together - them against the world - and that's now clearly fractured.

"I think she feels that he's toxic and that he's going to destroy her branding opportunities, so it's time to go off on her own."

The former prince's relationship with his ex-wife remained close following their divorce in 1996, and they lived together in Royal Lodge in Windsor for decades before being jointly evicted earlier this year.

Andrew is now hiding out on the Royal Family's Sandringham estate, whilst Sarah traced to a £2,000-a-night chalet in the Austrian Alps, with the pair also reportedly harbour a "deep-rooted suspicion" of each other.

A source close to the ex-couple told Radar Online: "What has unfolded between them goes far beyond a simple cooling-off period - there is now a deep-rooted suspicion shaping every interaction.

"Both apppear acutely aware that the other holds years of shared history that could, if made public, be framed in ways that are uncomfortable or even reputationally damaging.

"That awareness has bred a kind of mutual paranoia, where even private conversations are weighed against how they might one day be interpreted or diclosed."