Featured Image Credit: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Topics: Life, Mental Health, News, Sexual Abuse, Virginia Giuffre, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Life, Mental Health, News, Sexual Abuse, Virginia Giuffre, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew
Virginia Giuffre's family gave some insight into what the late 41-year-old's life was like in the lead up to her untimely death.
On Thursday (April 24), Giuffre died by suicide, her loved ones said in a statement.
"It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia," they said.
"She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking.
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"Virginia was a fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse and sex trafficking. She was the light that lifted so many survivors.
"In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight."
Giuffre was involved in a high-profile civil case with Prince Andrew, where she sued him for sexual assault.
Giuffre claimed that she was trafficked to the disgraced royal by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019, while Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York.
While Queen Elizabeth's son denied the allegations, he ended up settling, and she received an undisclosed sum.
Giuffre is believed to have had a difficult few weeks in the lead-up to her death, at one stage claiming that she had just 'days to live' after being involved in a car crash.
Elsewhere, the mom-of-three was having marital issues with her estranged husband.
The couple separated in 2023.
According to her brother Sky Roberts, Giuffre's husband filed a restraining order in February that prevented her from seeing her kids.
He said: "It’s the worst pain in the world to not have access to your children.
"Can you imagine the pain? I will tell you, all the physical (pain) will never amount to the pain of being separated from your children in that way."
Roberts described his sister's children as 'the most important thing in her life'.
It's also been said that Giuffre's husband was allegedly abusive towards her, and her brother implied that the injuries she suffered wasn't a result of the car crash, but rather due to something else.
"Nobody ever said her liver issues and kidney failure were ever from that. We still don't know if it is, I'm not a medical professional. That's up to her doctor to determine," he told PEOPLE at the time.
Addressing the extent of her injuries, Roberts added: "I think that's from years of alleged abuse. You got to think, she's been allegedly being abused for over 10 years. Anyone's body is going to take a toll over a course of time."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.