Thursday, 9 July 2009

• Prev
• Next

Mercy 'struggles' to adapt to her new life

The little girl believed to be in shock after becoming a megastar's daughter

Madonna and Mercy are still getting used to each other

Madonna battled long and hard to bring Mercy home, but her fight isn’t over.

Now, to add to her stress, the Malawian tot is believed to be struggling to adjust to her new environment.

After being looked after by nannies in Malawi for 9 days before Madonna met her, attempts by the superstar to care for her have proved more difficult than she’d expected.

Perhaps it’s not surprising. After all, the 4-year-old’s world has been turned upside down in the past fortnight.

In the first few days, it’s thought Mercy barely said a word, after being whisked from Malawi to her new surroundings in Madonna’s palatial London townhouse and the army of staff catering for her every whim.

A planned party hosted by Stella McCartney to welcome the new arrival was cancelled as it’s been considered that it would be too overwhelming for Mercy to cope.

Madonna, 50, and Mercy have had just one outing together, to a kabbalah meeting on 27 June with Guy Ritchie, 40, who’s now looking after their other two children Rocco, 8, and fellow Malawian adoptee David, 3. 

It’s believed Mercy found the transition difficult, according to a friend, who says: ‘She was virtually mute on the plane over to the UK, which was a big contrast to the bubbly girl they knew back at her orphanage.

'She’s been clinging on to her nannies, which is understandable as they’ve looked after her for longer, and she hadn’t warmed to Madonna at all until the past couple of days. Madonna’s tried everything to comfort Mercy, but the bond of mother and daughter isn’t working quickly enough for her.

‘Mercy’s been ripped out of her comfort zone and no amount of mollycoddling could shield her from the huge changes in her life. She’s not used to having any sort of possessions and has found the whole experience confusing.’

See the full story about Madonna and Mercy in Now magazine dated 13 July 2009 - out now!