To quote writer Allison P. Davis, “Meghan, silenced no more.” The Cut’s latest cover profile is a big one—Meghan Markle gives her first personal, in-depth interview since her explosive Oprah sit-down in March 2021. The newly minted podcaster and mom of Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, opens up about her new life with Harry and the kids in idyllic Montecito, California. It’s a bold pairing: Davis is known for her ability to unmask truths in an unapologetic style, and has covered everything from her own dating life to the rise of Lizzo. Markle clearly welcomes an incisive take, even knowing she can’t control the narrative. Read on for seven things we learned from the wide-ranging interview, including the potential for a reality show and the couple’s current relationship with the royal family.
The interview feels riskier, more revealing, than others, even as Markle maintains a media-friendly front. At one point, she asks Davis if she wants to know a secret, before teasing a return to Instagram. (She later walks back this statement via her PR, saying “she was no longer sure if she would actually return.”)
She’s also quite playful, self-deprecatingly describing the noises she's making when she is at a loss for words: "‘She’s making these guttural sounds, and I can’t quite articulate what it is she’s feeling in that moment because she has no word for it; she’s just moaning," she jokes to Davis. This truly feels like a peek at her personality, perhaps how she is with her famous friends. Speaking of whom…
Issa Rae, Constance Wu, Margaret Cho and more guest star on her new podcast, Archetypes. It’s the first product from Archewell, the company that she and Harry founded which has multi-million dollar deals with Spotify and Netflix. Each episode covers a “type” of woman—including “Slut” and “Bitch,” two words Markle declines to say aloud during the interview because she’s “uncomfortable”—dissected by Markle and her guest. The first episode debuted at number one on Spotify—unseating Joe Rogan—and featured Serena Williams, post-retirement announcement, speaking about ambition and motherhood.
Harry and Meghan spent more than $14 million on their home in a tony enclave north of Los Angeles. She reveals that they were sold before they even stepped inside thanks to “two massive Dr. Seussian palm trees…connected at the bottom.” This natural, unending bond reminded “H” (as Markle calls Harry) of the bond between the two of them. “‘One of the first things my husband saw when we walked around the house was those two palm trees,’ she coos. ‘See how they’re connected at the bottom? He goes, ‘My love, it’s us.’” The home is very large, very tastefully decorated and very luxurious. As Davis puts it, “...a scene that looks like a Nancy Meyers cinematic interior, Town & Country, Goop, and Architectural Digest had an orgy and created the perfect moment in California living…”
Markle is enjoying the simplicity of the school run without being stalked by paparazzi—she invites Davis to pick up a chatty Archie at preschool and recalls meeting a surprised parent in a bouncy castle at a birthday party. “I saw this one-year-old inside. I was like, ‘Where’s your mom?’ And this mom on the outside goes, ‘Oh, hi! I’m here. I wasn’t sure if I should come in.’ ” She laughs. “I was like, ‘Do you need your child? Of course you can come in.’
Markle sends “a week’s worth of freshly picked fruit” to Archie’s class, and also presents Davis with a parting gift: a basket of fruits and vegetables, plus a jar of jam labelled “Lili Bunny Garden + Larder.”
Will we see Harry and Meghan on TV? Markle, while she says “I’m not trying to be cagey,” refers any questions to her publicist, and is quick to differentiate between reality TV and a "historical documentary," which would potentially be about their "love story." While she won’t confirm, potential footage for this potential documentary has reportedly been filmed and a director is reportedly attached.
Perhaps the biggest reveal of the interview is that Markle never signed an NDA with or for the royal family—and she seems to relish this edge, saying “‘I can talk about my whole experience and make a choice not to.’” While the idea of Markle revealing more about her time spent with the royal family is tantalizing, she admits that she hasn’t said more because she’s “still healing.”
Forgiveness is still a work in progress—on that, Markle seems firm. In a slightly confusing quote that's gotten a lot of media attention, she says Harry told her, “‘I lost my dad in this process.’” People interprets this as Markle referring to her own father; the U.K. press says it's Harry who has lost Prince Charles.
“‘I think forgiveness is really important. It takes a lot more energy to not forgive,’ she says wisely. ‘But it takes a lot of effort to forgive. I’ve really made an active effort, especially knowing that I can say anything,’ she says, her voice full of meaning.”
That meaning is her power and it’s an insight to see her wield it.
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