Prince Harry’s ex makes major life change after ‘horrible' scrutiny during 'doomed’ romance: expert
Chelsy Davy, a Zimbabwean businesswoman, dated the Duke of Sussex on-and-off from 2004 to 2011
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy made a surprising announcement.
The Zimbabwean businesswoman recently took to Instagram and made a rare post announcing she had welcomed a second child, a baby girl named Chloe. She also mentioned her fine jewelry line, Aya.
This was the first time the 38-year-old posted on social media in nearly two years.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Chelsy Davy returned to social media for the first time in nearly two years to make a special announcement. (Mark Milan/GC Images/Getty Images)
Several royal experts told Fox News Digital that Davy has been enjoying a quiet, private life away from the glaring media spotlight she endured while dating the British prince. The Duke of Sussex dated Davy on and off from 2004 to 2011. He later blamed "the prying eyes of the tabloids" for the demise of his "doomed" romance.
"Chelsy and Harry weren’t by any measure a perfectly matched couple," Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"They had their rows, definitely, but they were deeply in love," he shared. "Their relationship lasted for years until Chelsy simply couldn't stand the media circus — what she called ‘the craziness’ — anymore."
According to multiple reports, Chelsy Davy was Prince Harry's first love. (Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
Davy, the daughter of wealthy businessman Charles Davy, met the royal in 2004 when he was in Africa. It was his gap year between school and the Army. According to multiple reports, Davy was Harry’s first love.
"Back in the day, Prince Harry felt his greatest win in life was having Chelsy Davy by his side," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"His eyes twinkled as he shared that his rather sassy girlfriend was the best thing that had ever happened to him," Chard claimed. "Chelsy was Harry's first serious girlfriend. They shared similar interests, were well suited, and he even called her ‘wifey’ throughout their 7-year romance. They met at school and shared fun, happy times in their 20s. They even gave their relationship another whirl a few years later, but they were not destined to be together."
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
"They had their rows, definitely, but they were deeply in love. Their relationship lasted for years until Chelsy simply couldn't stand the media circus - what she called ‘the craziness’ - anymore."
Prince Harry's time in the Army put a strain on his relationship with Chelsy Davy. (Indigo/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that Harry often told his closest friends that Davy was "very special."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"What Prince Harry found so appealing about Chelsy was ‘her bold personality’ and that she wasn’t interested in his title," Fordwich claimed. "They were initially introduced by a mutual friend… Life in the spotlight was not for her, but their mutual feelings lasted longer."
Still, Chard noted that the pair "came from different worlds." Davy was targeted by the ruthless British press, which "gradually ate away at their relationship." His time on his first Afghanistan tour also "posed a slight strain," said Chard.
British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital that Prince Harry had hoped for "a fairy tale wedding with his first love." (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Still, Chard claimed that Harry had hoped for "a fairy tale wedding with his first love."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"Ironically, it was at Prince William and Catherine’s fairy tale wedding in 2011 that Chelsy decided she wasn’t strong enough for royal life, and she couldn’t make the sacrifices expected of her," said Chard. "She couldn’t cope with the media scrutiny and being in the glare of an uncomfortable global spotlight. She fiercely valued and guarded her privacy. And as such, royal life wasn’t for her."
WATCH: PRINCE HARRY'S JABS AT QUEEN CAMILLA UNFORGIVABLE FOR KING CHARLES: EXPERT
"Prince Harry was hoping to get back together with her after the wedding, where they danced and partied until the early hours of the morning and kissed in front of all the guests," Fordwich claimed. "But she didn’t see them getting married. She told many friends at the time that ‘the enormity and pomp of the day’ was not what she wanted, and she didn’t want to be in the spotlight. She found it ‘crazy, scary, horrible.’"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
According to royal experts, Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy stayed good friends after parting ways. (CHRIS RATCLIFFE/AFP via Getty Images)
While the couple was "broken-hearted" when they parted ways for good, they stayed friends, the experts claimed.
In 2016, Davy launched her jewelry line. That year, she spoke to the U.K. Times and reflected on her relationship with Harry. She described the constant attention she received while dating the prince as "scary."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable," said Davy at the time. "I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn't cope."
Chelsy Davy (left) and Kate Middleton (right) watch Prince Harry and Prince William play in a charity polo match at the Beaufort Polo Club on July 29, 2006, in Tetbury, England. (Indigo/Getty Images)
"It was horrible," she shared. "It was nuts. That’s also why I wanted to go back to Africa. Now it’s calm, it’s fine."
Friends later said that Harry and Davy had "an emotional call" before he married Meghan Markle, a former American actress, in 2018.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"They recognized their relationship was totally over as Prince Harry was moving on," Fordwich explained.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Chelsy Davy attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England. (Pool/Max Mumby/Getty Images)
Davy went on to attend her ex’s wedding. She was also a guest at Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank that same year.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Davy, now Chelsy Yvonne Cutmore-Scott, married her boyfriend of three years, Sam Cutmore-Scott, in early 2022. They share a son named Leo.
Prince Harry said tabloids were "the main factor" for his breakup with Chelsy Davy. (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
Prince Harry detailed his relationship with Chelsy Davy in his 2023 memoir "Spare." (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
In January 2023, Harry’s memoir "Spare" was published. In it, he detailed his relationship with Davy.
"I remember her being… different," Harry wrote, as quoted by Cosmopolitan. "Unlike so many people I knew, she seemed wholly unconcerned with appearances, with propriety, with royalty. Unlike so many girls I met, she wasn’t visibly fitting herself for a crown the moment she shook my hand. She seemed immune to that common affliction sometimes called throne syndrome."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
"I’d always wanted to know what it might be like to meet a woman and not have her eyes widen at the mention of my title but instead to widen them myself, using my mind, my heart," he wrote. "With Chelsy, that seemed a real possibility. Not only was she uninterested in my title, she seemed bored by it. ‘Oh, you’re a prince? Yawn.’"
Chelsy Davy admitted she couldn't cope with the relentless press scrutiny in the U.K. while she dated Prince Harry. (Niki Nikolova/FilmMagic/Getty Images)
Harry also admitted it was "hard" seeing Davy at his brother’s wedding after they broke up.
"There were loads of feelings still there, feelings I’d suppressed, feelings I hadn’t suspected," he wrote. "I also felt a certain way about the hungry-looking men trailing after her, circling her, nagging her to dance. Jealousy got the better of me that night, and I told her so, which made me feel worse. And a bit pathetic."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
Fordwich said it’s likely Davy has zero regrets about walking away from a royal life.
Prince Harry is seen here with Meghan Markle on their wedding day. (Ben STANSALL - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
"Her passions are mostly African-based," said Fordwich. "She launched a luxury travel agency curating personalized service for African travel to Zambia after previously being in law. She also founded a jewelry line all based on African gems and themes."
"She always values her privacy and appreciates the quiet and calm," said Fordwich. "She saw that royal life wasn’t for her. It could never have worked since she so values privacy."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.