Meghan Markle Gets Real About The Stress of Media Attention During Pregnancy & Motherhood

Meghan Markle is speaking out about how being in the public eye as a new mother has impacted her mental health. On Friday, ITV released a clip from the upcoming documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, coming out this Sunday in the U.K. 

The footage reveals Markle getting candid about the negative attention she’s received from the media while pregnant and after giving birth.

“Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging,” Markle says. “And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman, it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um… yeah. I guess, also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.” 

In the documentary — which focuses mostly on Markle and Prince Harry’s tour of southern Africa — journalist Tom Bradby asks the Duchess of Sussex if it’s fair to say she’s “not really okay, as in it’s really been a struggle?” Her answer? “Yes.” 

Prince Harry also speaks in the new documentary about the royal pressures, and how media scrutiny takes him back to the death of his mother, Princess Diana, People reports. 

Prince Harry has been vocal about the treatment of Markle in the press, which he’s called “ruthless.” The Duke and Duchess of Sussex even clapped back by filing lawsuits against various publications. One is against the Mail on Sunday, which published a private letter Markle sent to her father. Other lawsuits are against MGN, which formerly owned The Mirror, and News UK, which owns The Sun, People reports.

Markle gave birth to the couple’s first child, Archie, on May 6, and the royal couple has said media scrutiny in the lead-up and even after the birth has been tough. In a rare statement, Prince Harry disavowed the mistreatment of Markle “over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son.” He said in the statement earlier this month that he and Markle have “continued to put on a brave face — as so many of you can relate to — I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been.” 

He continued: "There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious.”