Duchess of York's Weight Watchers lifesaver

Dec 16, 2009, 12:03 GMT

Britain's Sarah Ferguson believes Weight Watchers "saved her life".

The Duchess of York - who is affectionately nicknamed 'Fergie' - was "paranoid" and "broken" after she was criticised for gaining weight in England following her split from Prince Andrew in 1996 but found solace when she moved to the US and was supported by the dieting company and her American fans.

She explained: "I worked for Weight Watchers for 12 years and when I first started working for them I was so broken by the British press, that I came to America and I thought everyone was looking at me.

"I was very paranoid really about everything, and it was the leaders of Weight Watchers and the American people who saved my life. It was Oklahoma, it was middle-America, it was people saying, 'It's OK, come on, it's OK Fergie, we know you've made mistakes, it doesn't matter, we all have, come on.' "

The 50-year-old duchess - who has daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with the 49-year-old royal - has started her own charity to support US children and help her give something back to the country.

She told SheKnows.com: "I am a closet American because of what you've done for me, and you've certainly given my children their mummy back. I just can't thank you enough, and that's why I started my foundation to thank the American children. Sarah Ferguson's Foundation supports American children, in order to say 'thank you,' I don't know how else to do it."