Chelsy Davy recalls how "scary" it was dating in the spotlight in a resurfaced interview
“I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn’t cope. I was young, I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible.”
Prince Harry's High Court phone-hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers is taking place this week, with the Duke of Sussex returning to the United Kingdom for the landmark case.
The 38-year-old Prince is reportedly accusing the Mirror Group Newspaper of phone hacking and unlawful news gathering, testifying in court this week.
It is during this case that details of Prince Harry's former relationship with Chelsy Davy have resurfaced, with the Duke alleging that both his and Davy's phones were hacked repeatedly during their relationship.
Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy dated on and off from 2004 to 2010, with the former couple explaining years prior to this case that the media attention and lack of privacy were the reasons behind their split.
Prince Harry even spoke out about the invasion of privacy and how it affected their relationship in his recent memoir Spare, with his words about Chelsy Davy going viral - particularly relating to their 2010 break up.
Recently however, it is Chelsy's words that have gone viral, as a 2016 interview with The Times resurfaced, in which she detailed how scary it was dating in the spotlight.
“It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable," Chelsy recalled. “I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn’t cope. I was young, I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible.”
She continued: “It was nuts. That’s also why I wanted to go back to Africa. Now it’s calm, now it’s fine.”
"The whole world isn’t made to put up with constant scrutiny, and I don’t know if Chels could bear it, and I couldn’t ask her to," Prince Harry recalled in his memoir. "Chels insisted that she was not sure if she was prepared for all of that. A whole life with someone on your heels? What could I say to her?”
He added: “I completely understood her desire for freedom. If I had a choice, I wouldn’t want this life either. I would miss her very much, but I understood she put her freedom first. If I had the choice, I’d want to live like that as well.”
Despite ultimately parting ways in 2010, Harry and Chelsy remained on very good terms and in each other's inner circle, with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle even inviting Chelsy to their 2018 wedding.
We will continue to update this story.
