Duffy has revealed she experienced a traumatic experience where she was drugged, raped and held hostage over several days.
The 'Mercy' singer-songwriter says it was one of the reasons why she dropped out of the limelight.
The 35-year-old laid bare her horrific encounter in a post on Instagram, describing the hurt she went through and how she has rebuilt her life.
Duffy, real name Aimee Anne Duffy, wrote on the social media site: "You can only imagine the amount of times I thought about writing this. The way I would write it, how I would feel thereafter. Well, not entirely sure why now is the right time, and what it is that feels exciting and liberating for me to talk.
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"I cannot explain it. Many of you wonder what happened to me, where did I disappear to and why.
"A journalist contacted me, he found a way to reach me and I told him everything this past summer. He was kind and it felt so amazing to finally speak.
"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.
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"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.
"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.
"In the following weeks I will be posting a spoken interview. If you have any questions I would like to answer them, in the spoken interview, if I can. I have a sacred love and sincere appreciation for your kindness over the years. You have been friends. I want to thank you for that x Duffy.
"Please respect this is a gentle move for me to make, for myself, and I do not want any intrusion to my family. Please support me to make this a positive experience."
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The post doesn't detail when the horrible experience happened, but Duffy has received a flood of support from followers around the world, with everyone just hoping that she is okay.
The singer became the first Welsh woman to achieve number one on the UK Singles Chart since 1983 when 'Mercy' dropped in 2008. She also was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album for Rockferry.
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