Meghan Markle reflects on 2020 miscarriage, finds parallels in pregnancy loss and letting go of ventures
MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA: In a deeply emotional conversation on the latest episode of her podcast 'Confessions of a Female Founder', Meghan Markle opened up about her miscarriage in 2020 and how it led her to a profound realization about detachment and moving on from painful experiences.
The podcast, which is produced by Lemonada Media, featured Meghan speaking with Reshma Saujani, the founder of nonprofit organization Girls Who Code, and who, like the Duchess of Sussex, has experienced pregnancy loss.
Meghan Markle reflects on pregnancy loss and letting go of ventures
During the episode, Meghan Markle began by acknowledging the personal pain she endured in July 2020, revealing her thoughts on the connection between the loss of an unborn child and stepping away from a project or career, as per OK Magazine.
"I think in some parallel way … you have to learn to detach from the thing that you have so much promise and hope for and to be able to be OK at a certain point to let something go that you plan to love for a long time," she shared, reflecting on the difficulty of releasing something you cherish, even when the circumstances demand it.
Her words left an impression on Reshma, who responded by praising Meghan's insight, joking, "I think you’ve been reading my diaries."
The remark, which offered a moment of levity amid the heavy subject, highlighted the shared experience between the two women.
Reshma said, "I don’t think anyone’s seen it that way [or], like, said it that way for me," indicating the depth of understanding that had developed during their discussion.
She stepped down as the CEO of Girls Who Code in 2021 after having a series of miscarriages.
Meghan Markle's heartbreaking essay about her July 2020 miscarriage
Meghan Markle first opened up publicly about her miscarriage in November 2020 through a poignant essay for The New York Times.
In the piece, she detailed the heartbreak of losing a child, describing the immense grief she carried in silence, a grief experienced by many but rarely spoken about.
She recalled that it happened in July 2020, just after she had finished changing her son Archie’s diaper.
"After changing his diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right," she wrote.
In that instant, she knew she was losing her second child. "I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second," Meghan added.
The raw emotion in her words highlighted the devastating reality of pregnancy loss and how it is often accompanied by a sense of profound isolation.
Prince Harry blamed tabloid pressure for Meghan Markle's miscarriage
Nearly a year later, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lilibet, who will turn four in June.
In their 2022 Netflix docuseries 'Harry & Meghan', the couple further discussed the trauma of the miscarriage.
He stated, "I believe my wife suffered a miscarriage because of what the Mail did," referring to the overwhelming pressure Meghan faced during her legal battle with the Daily Mail's parent company, Associated Newspapers, over articles published in 2019 that included excerpts from a private letter she sent to her father, Thomas Markle.
While he acknowledged that there was no concrete evidence to link the media's actions to the miscarriage, Harry continued, "I watched the whole thing. Now, do we absolutely know that the miscarriage was caused by that? Of course, we don't. [But] bearing in mind the stress that caused the lack of sleep and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was, I can say from what I saw, that miscarriage was created by what they were trying to do to her."
His words offered a powerful glimpse into the emotional toll Meghan's public struggles had taken on their family, providing further context to the couple's fight against what they saw as relentless media harassment.
