Being a new mother is hard, but it’s even harder when you’re under intense media scrutiny 24/7. Meghan Markle gave birth to her son Archie this past May and has been subject to negative tabloid press throughout her pregnancy and after giving birth.
Last Friday, ITV News released a clip from their recent documentary “Harry and Meghan: An African Journey”, which features an emotional interview with Meghan. ITV anchor Tom Bradby traveled with Meghan and Harry on a 10-day tour of Africa and spoke candidly with her about how she has been dealing with aggressive tabloids post-partum.
Watching the interview broke my heart a little bit. When Bradby asks how she’s been doing, Meghan visibly tears up and says, “Thank you for asking, because not many people have asked me if I’m okay, and it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”
She goes on to speak on vulnerability, saying, “Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable…it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed.”
When Bradby asks if “it would be fair to say to say [that Meghan is] not really okay,” Meghan is heartbreakingly honest. “Yes,” she says.
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As a woman, it’s incredibly powerful to hear the Duchess of Sussex say that she’s not okay. It makes me feel less alone in my own struggles. After all, she’s a woman who is supposed to have it all. So if she’s not afraid to be honest and open in admitting that she’s not perfect, maybe it’s okay for me, too.
It takes some serious guts to tell someone, anyone, that you are not okay. For Meghan to share that she’s having a difficult time behind the scenes is brave because she has the whole world breathing down her neck. But her platform also affords her the power to start a conversation. By being honest on a national platform, she’s giving encouragement and hope to everyone who is struggling with her.
It’s also refreshing to hear a journalist ask a celebrity about their mental health. Celebrities’ private struggles are rarely publicized. Reporters and paparazzi also don’t usually take the time to have a person-to-person conversation with the celebrities they’re interviewing, so as a viewer I was pleasantly surprised to have this candid look into Meghan’s life.
The takeaway: it’s okay to not be okay, collegiettes. None of us are perfect, and a lot of us aren’t okay right now. But we’re not alone, and we’ll get through this together.