Grammy-winner Duffy was at the top of her game when her second album Endlessly dropped in 2010. Then she mysteriously stepped away from public life without explanation. Now, after about a decade of finding the strength to speak out, she has come forward with the shocking reason:

The truth is, and please trust me I am ok and safe now, I was raped and drugged and held captive over some days. 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.

Everyone deals with trauma in their own way, but to preemptively address those fans who might wonder why she did not throw herself into her work and art as part of her healing, she added:

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.

Thank you for finding the courage to discuss such a personal matter, Duffy. Through your example, we are sure you will help many others who are struggling. Below is her full Instagram post, and below that are a few of the beautiful songs she gave us around 2009, before her time away healing, including “Mercy,” “Warwick Avenue,” and “Well, Well, Well.”

(Image: Duffy in 2009, © LFI/Photoshot, via Hollywood Reporter)