Ashley James departed the ITV studios on Tuesday following her appearance on the popular daytime programme This Morning. The 38-year-old former Made In Chelsea star, a regular guest on the show, participated in a segment to discuss her recent meeting with Gisèle Pelicot.
Gisèle Pelicot's Harrowing Story
Gisèle Pelicot, aged 73, courageously waived her right to anonymity prior to her husband's trial. Dominique Pelicot, her spouse of 50 years, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for secretly drugging and raping her over nearly a decade. He also invited strangers into their home to abuse her. Gisèle is now releasing a book titled A Hymn To Life: Shame Has To Change Sides, detailing her traumatic experiences.
Ashley's Emotional Response to Recent Events
This poignant meeting with Gisèle occurred shortly after Ashley broke down in tears during a previous episode of This Morning. She was discussing the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse. On Friday, Ashley joined a panel of guests to analyse the disgraced royal's arrest by Thames Valley Police on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released from custody later that day.
Detectives have been investigating his conduct as a UK trade envoy, following emails in the Epstein Files that suggested he shared confidential information with Epstein. This included reports of official visits and potential investment opportunities. After viewing a clip featuring Virginia Giuffre's family, Ashley dabbed tears from her eyes and expressed her emotions.
"I felt very emotional watching this actually. There's a reason I feel so upset about it," she said. "So many of us have watched the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein try to get justice, and I felt a huge sense of relief yesterday watching Andrew be arrested. Of course, his arrest is about state matters and not about the alleged sexual abuse of Virginia Giuffre, who of course is no longer here."
Ashley added, "I think the fact that it took so long and she is no longer here for justice to be served. And as Virginia's brother said yesterday, this feels like the thread that is slowly starting to be unravelled. Hopefully we will see accountability. It feels so personal for lots of women and girls watching this, because the atrocities linked to Jeffrey Epstein and not only was part of that, but also knew about it."
Ashley's Personal Revelation
Earlier this month, Ashley bravely revealed for the first time that she was raped by a male friend when she was a 21-year-old student at Nottingham University. She recounted this assault in her new book, Bimbo, explaining it occurred after a night out at a club with friends while she was unconscious.
Ashley described the rape as "one of the very worst moments of my life", highlighting the shame and silence she endured afterwards. She hopes her story will change the conversation around rape and victim blaming. In a chapter titled Silly Girl, which references how victims are often dismissed, she wrote about the lasting impact.
"It's something I've never spoken about and yet I've thought about it every day since, increasingly so since having children. It was one of the very worst moments of my life. It was hugely traumatic. I'm not telling the story to shock but as a mirror to show how common these experiences are – and also how broken the support system is," Ashley shared.
Challenges in Reporting and Self-Blame
The television personality explained that she did not report the incident because her attacker was a friend, not a stranger, making it difficult to accept he was a rapist. This led her to internalise the blame. "I didn't come forward. Not because I thought the police wouldn't believe me, or that the courts would fail me, but because the man wasn't a stranger in a dark alley. He was a friend," she wrote.
"And because of that, the only person I blamed was myself. For years. Even after it happened, I was more worried about him not liking me than I was about my own trauma. I was worried he'd tell other people and everyone would think I was a s**g. So I didn't tell anyone, and I even tried to stay friends with him. Even now I find it hard to think about him as a rapist. Even though that's what he was, because I wasn't asking for it. In fact, I was unconscious."
Ashley continued, "I'd worry about ruining his life. Yes, I was drunk. Yes, I was wearing going-out clothes, having come from a club. But I was with friends — people I trusted. We don't teach girls that, one day, if they get the chance, their male friends might try to rape them… It doesn't matter what you are wearing [or] if you had zero drinks or 1,000 drinks."
After her appearance, Ashley posted a photo of herself crying on social media, captioning it: "Accurate footage of me on @thismorning today. My third time crying on live TV but sometimes I think tears show we f***ing care and we should all be in tears." She then attended an event hosted by the hair brand Rehab, looking smart in a lime green co-ord.
