She had a massive hit with the song Mercy in 2008, released two popular albums — and then totally disappeared from the public eye.
What happened to Welsh singer Duffy in the intervening years only came to light four years ago.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Duffy’s message about finding happiness.
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In February 2020, Duffy emerged from years of silence to reveal that she had been through a horrific ordeal that included being drugged, kidnapped and held captive for several days, during which time she was raped.
“Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why?” she wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post.
“The truth is, and please trust me I am OK and safe now, (is that) I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days.
“Of course, I survived.
“The recovery took some 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 then retreated once more — only two emerge on social media again this week to post a video about how to find happiness.
“A little something to motivate the heart,” the singer captioned the video.
“Hope you are all doing well.
“Lots of love, Duffy.”
The animated video features a narrator who says, “One day you’re going to see it, that happiness was always about the discovery.”
“The hope, the listening to your heart and following it wherever it chose to go,” the narrator continues.
“Happiness was always about being kinder to yourself.
“One day you will understand that happiness was always about learning how to live with yourself, that your happiness was never in the hands of others.
“One day you will realise that true happiness comes from within, and no external factors can define it.
“It was always about you.”
The video, posted on Tuesday, is only one of two posts currently active on Duffy’s Instagram.
Despite her long social media silence, however, there were more than 181,000 followers waiting to hear from her.
“We love you and miss you. We’ll wait for you,” one fan wrote.
“We miss you, Duffy. And we love you. Hope you are doing OK. Remember people love you here,” wrote another.
“We love you forever Duffy,” added a third.
“Your music and spirit changed lives.”
Duffy, now 39, rose to international fame with her debut album, 2008’s Rockferry, and the 60s soul-inspired song Mercy.
Her second album, Endlessly, was released in 2010 and featured the single Well, Well, Well.
After breaking her silence about her kidnapping with her 2020 Instagram message, Duffy then released a longer statement about what had happened.
The singer said she had been drugged at a restaurant on her birthday, taken overseas on a plane, and then held captive in a hotel room, where she was sexually assaulted.
After the traumatic ordeal, Duffy said she had spent the following decade “almost completely alone”.
Thanking her psychologist, she said she was learning to leave the past 10 years “behind,” but added: “I very much doubt I will ever be the person people once knew.”
It’s not known if Duffy will ever return to recording or a career in music.
“All I can say is it took an extremely long time, sometimes feeling never ending, to reclaim the shattered pieces of me,” Duffy wrote in 2020.
“I really don’t know what’s next for me.
“I would like to experience me being who I really am, for the first time, privately.
“To feel a peace that I have been, until now, only half feeling.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.