Meghan Markle Tried Stiff Upper Lip, but "Not Enough to Just Survive"

In ITV's new documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, got vulnerable when speaking about the intense media scrutiny she's experienced ever since she married into the royal family.

Of the British tabloids' treatment of her, she told ITV's Tom Bradby, "I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair and that's the part that's really hard to reconcile."

She began by saying, "I've said for a long time to H—that's what I call him—it's not enough to just survive something, right? That's not the point of life. You've got to thrive, you've got to feel happy. I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried. But I think that what that does internally is probably really damaging."

After Bradby noted that the wealth and status associated with her and the royal family inevitably goes hand in hand with media attention, Meghan responded, "I think the grass is always greener. You have no idea. It is really hard to understand what it's like. The good thing is that I have got my baby and I have got my husband and they are the best."

In the same interview, Meghan said that her British friends had warned her against marrying Prince Harry. "When I first met Harry, my friends were so excited. My U.S. friends were happy because I was happy," the duchess said. "But my British friends, they were sure he was lovely, but they said I shouldn't do it because, 'The British tabloids will destroy your life.'"

Harry & Meghan: An African Journey will air in the United States on Wednesday, October 23, at 10 p.m. ET, on ABC.

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As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset. 

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