Model and ‘face of Royal Ascot’ Lady Martha Sitwell reveals she slept rough in London for 3 years as a teenager and was raped several times

Lady Martha Sitwell has revealed she slept rough as a teenager – and opened up about the devastating abuse she endured on the streets of London.

The socialite and model, 44, who is best known for being the “face of Royal Ascot”, revealed for the first time that she was homeless between the ages of 13 and 16.

In a new interview with The timesLady Sitwell, who is the ex-wife of Baronet Sir George Sitwell, explained how her story proves that homelessness can happen to anyone.

After being kicked out of her home, she slept rough for three years until she was spotted by Vivienne Westwood outside the Piccadilly Theater and her life changed completely.

During that time, Mrs Sitwell faced constant threats and danger, including being ‘spit on and kicked at’ by those who saw her as vulnerable and being raped as a young teenager.

She told the newspaper she had ‘nowhere to go’ and was ill-prepared for a life on the streets after being thrown out of her family home.

Describing her years of homelessness, she said: ‘Often I would be woken up by someone – not necessarily another homeless person – robbing me of what little I had secured to survive that day.’

She added that “party nights” (Thursdays to Sundays) were the worst: “While the bars were open, I would go through regular little random atrocities, being spat on or kicked by a passing reveler to make their friends laugh because I were homeless and therefore not human in their eyes.

‘Later, after closing, when the crowd of people waiting for taxis or buses home had dwindled to just a handful of mindless bored alcoholics, I could be subjected to more sustained acts of violence.’

As a young teenager, she faced dangers at night – especially in the hours after people had gone home from a night out and before commuters began their journeys.

During the day, it was a case of begging for money while being ignored by people who assumed she was lazy and work-shy.

One horrific incident even saw her kidnapped by a group of four men and raped by each of them.

Lady Sitwell says her journey into homelessness proves it can happen to anyone.

She grew up in a large Georgian house in north Norfolk, the middle child of gastronomes Justin and Melanie de Blank.

She and her siblings had hobbies such as ballet and horse riding and lived a privileged childhood.

But her hidden struggles with dyslexia and dyspraxia – as well as an attention deficit disorder that wasn’t diagnosed until her 30s – meant she struggled at school.

The now-socialite went through a series of traumatic events even before homelessness hit, including being raped by a family friend aged 11 and her father being diagnosed with Parkinson’s when she was 13.

Finding solace in goth and punk friends in London, Ms Sitwell turned to partying, smoking, LSD and ecstasy – and was eventually kicked out of the home.

She first slept in the underpass at Tottenham Court Road before meeting her boyfriend – a drug addict – and moving to a place at the Piccadilly Theatre.

At just 17, she had a son, Conor De Blank, and the baby was raised by her aunt.

Later, she was discovered by Vivienne Westwood in a doorway at the Piccadilly Theatre, and her life took a dramatic turn.

She went on to become known as the ‘face of Ascot’ and as a ‘doyenne’ of sidesaddle in riding.

Ms Sitwell married former film producer Sir George in 2007 and lived with him in Northamptonshire at £3.25m Grade II-listed Weston Hall.

But her relationship with poet Dame Edith Sitwell’s great-grandson cooled and she threw a ‘divorce party’ in 2017 to mark the end of their ten-year union.

In September 2021, she revealed her anger after Sir George sold Northamptonshire home Weston Hall for £3.25m after being in the family home for 300 years.

“My husband, with whom I spent 12 years, for whom I gave up a promising modeling career, and who now lives in Knightsbridge, has now sold the house which at the time of our divorce could never be sold,” said Lady Sitwell, who claimed that she was left almost bankrupt after her divorce.

Despite his ex-wife’s complaints, Sir George insisted he had ‘no control whatsoever’ over the sale of Weston Hall and its contents.

Lady Sitwell once described marriage in general as ‘pure misery’, explaining: ‘It sucks all the energy out of you, sucks your youth and all the fun out of your life.’

She is still a model, stylist, designer and make-up artist – but says that she lives a ‘hand to mouth’ existence in a rented flat.

After her split from Sir George, Lady Sitwell was linked to Sotheby’s boss Lord Dalmeny until they split in April 2022.

A year later, she was seen leaving the exclusive Scott’s in Mayfair with Charles Saatchi, Nigella Lawson’s ex-husband.

Last December, homelessness charity Shelter found that 309,000 people would spend Christmas without a home. In 2022, homelessness among workers in England increased by 22 percent from two years earlier.