Most of us have embarrassing skeletons from our past relationships hiding in our closets that we hope never see the light of day. Some of us, however, happen to be high-profile figures who recently married into royalty, like Meghan Markle, so those skeletons are harder to keep on lockdown.
According to a "close friend" of Markle's who spoke to Daily Mail TV, the Duchess of Sussex allegedly made her ex-husband, Trevor Engelson, sign a pregnancy contract that stated that he would pay for a personal trainer and nutritionist if and when she got pregnant. In addition to those health and fitness conditions, there was also allegedly mention of how they'd handle childcare and nannies, the source said.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
According to Daily Mail TV's source, Markle also allegedly made Engelson literally sign a physical contract. "Maybe just a handwritten letter that she could hang over his head," the source said. While this so-called close friend of Markle's clearly had some personal beef to air about Markle's lifestyle choices, a pre-baby contract isn't that weird.
In fact, some might say a pregnancy contract is a practical measure that allows you to explicitly communicate your needs and expectations of your partner before you add a kid to the mix. Many couples fight when they have a kid because they each have a vision or perception of what their partner will be like, Esther Boykin, LMFT, a relationship therapist told Refinery29. So a contract could help prevent those arguments before they happen.
Some people refer to this as a pregnancy "prenup," or "prepup," and say it's great. A pregnancy contract might explain how chores are delineated, and ensure that emotional labor doesn't end up one-sided. What you decide to put in a pregnancy contract is personal, and who are we to judge Markle for wanting to prioritize her health and fitness during pregnancy?
Since this contract was allegedly signed, Markle's attitude and preferences may have changed. "It came up at a time when they were considering having a family, at some point in the near future," the friend told Daily Mail TV. Who knows why this friend felt the need to bring this out of the woodwork. Maybe it's because Markle just gave a great speech about feminism. Or maybe it's just the Halloween spirit that inspired her to drag her one-time friend's skeletons out for all to see and judge.