For nearly the last decade, Duffy has stayed mostly out of the spotlight. Now, the singer has shared a harrowing reason for her absence.
35-year-old Grammy winner Aimee Duffy, known by fans solely by her last name, took to Instagram on Tuesday and posted a single picture to her otherwise bare account. In a lengthy caption, the voice behind famed hit "Mercy" began with, "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," she continued. "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," Duffy stated. "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."
Duffy explained her silence, writing, "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."
The songstress said she will be posting a spoken interview in the coming weeks and hopes to answer questions with that interview. "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," she concluded before a final request.
"Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family," she asked. "Please support me to make this a positive experience."
In December, Duffy got fans attention when she shared a photo of herself with the simple caption, "2020," spurring many to think she was teasing a comeback after last releasing an album in 2010. She last released music in 2015 in the form of two tracks for the film, Legend, which she also appeared in.
Whatever the star has planned for her future, she'll be doing it with love and support from her fans. "This is not what I was expecting to read after all these years of wondering and missing one of my absolute favorite artists and people," one fan commented on her post. "I'm so sorry! But I know you'll heal and be back stronger than ever!"