Meghan Markle Makes Subtle Dig at Royal Family, Says She Needed ‘Healing’ After Megxit
Meghan Markle didn’t know what was going to happen next after she and her husband, Prince Harry, left the royal family in 2020. But she knew she needed a major change after a difficult couple of years of royal life.
Meghan Markle didn’t have a lot of ‘bandwidth’ when she left the royal family
The Duchess of Sussex spoke about building her brand and balancing her career and motherhood at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, D.C., on October 14. Over the past few years, she’s carved out space for herself as a lifestyle maven with her As Ever brand. She’s also become a reality TV personality thanks to her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan. But those and other projects were little more than vague dreams when she and Harry decided to step down from their royal duties five years ago, she told Fortune editor-in-chief and chief content officer Alyson Shontell.
“I think five years ago was a very different situation for all of us. You know, Archie was so little, and I had just got pregnant with Lili around that same time, so we were nesting – nesting and healing,” Meghan said, hinting at the conflicts with her husband’s family that led the couple to abandon their life in the U.K. – and as working royals.
“And also, I don’t know that I had the bandwidth at that time to think about what the big picture dream was. There was no plan. It was just, let’s get through these next couple of years, create community, which was always so important to both of us in our new environment. And then as we started to get into our producing through our deal with Netflix, really creating projects that we felt were compelling.”
Being stuck at home with young kids during COVID also reignited her long-time love of cooking and entertaining. She began to consider whether she could turn that into a business.
“It really was my passion project,” she said.
Duchess of Sussex has opened up about her mental health struggles
In her conversation at the Fortune event, Meghan didn’t get into details about why she needed healing after her two-year stint as a working royal. But in her and Harry’s bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah, she said that her mental health had taken a nosedive as she tried to adjust to a restrictive life in the monarchy. She also struggled to navigate the hostile and entitled British press.
“It was only once we were married and everything started to really worsen that I came to under-stand that not only was I not being protected, but they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family but they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband,” Meghan said. She went on to reveal that at one point, she barely left her house for four months because the royals wanted her to stay out of the spotlight. At her worst moments, she considered suicide.
“ I just didn’t want to be alive any more. And that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought. … I went to the [royal family] and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help,” she said. “I said that I’ve never felt this way before and I need to go somewhere. And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the [royal family].”
Eventually, Harry and Meghan realized that they had to cut ties with his family in order to live their own lives. It was a difficult choice, but the right one, Meghan told Oprah.
“I grieve a lot … But I’m still standing,” she said. “And my hope for people in the takeaway from this is to know that there’s another side.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988 or 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
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