Meghan Markle’s claim of being a ‘latchkey kid’ under question after viewers uncover 2016 clip

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Meghan Markle received widespread criticism as soon as the trailer of her Netflix series ‘With Love, Meghan’ dropped.

The show started streaming on March 4 and since then it has been called out for different reasons, including the Duchess of Sussex’s claim of being a “latchkey kid”.

People online have unearthed an old clip of hers from 2016 that gives this claim of the duchess a new twist, per the Daily Mail.

Meghan Markle claims she was a 'latchkey kid'

Meghan Markle’s guest on the second episode of 'With Love, Meghan' was Hollywood writer and actress Mindy Kaling. The duchess tells Kaling that she was a "latchkey kid" who grew up eating TV dinners and fast food.

“I grew up with a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners," she said.

She further said, “It feels like such a different time but that was so normal with the microwaveable kids' meals.”

“I grew up with that, watching 'Jeopardy!' and having a lot of fast food,” the mother-of-two added.

A latchkey child is one who is often home without adult supervision for some part of the day, especially after school until a parent returns from work.

Meghan Markle's 2016 video resurfaces, contradicts her 'latchkey kid' claim

But years ago, while appearing as a judge on the children's TV competition, ‘Chopped Junior’, Meghan Markle had given a very different account of her childhood. She described eating fresh and simple ingredients during her childhood.

During the show, she gave feedback to a young chef as she said, “This dish reminded me of the kind of food that I grew up eating in California, like that real... farm to table, sort of fresh, really simple ingredients.”

The former 'Suits' actress’ saying that she ate “farm-to-table” food is quite contrary to what she’s claiming now on her Netflix cooking show.

Meghan Markle says she loved gardening as a child

Also, during her episode with Korean-American chef Roy Choi, Meghan Markle reportedly talked about her love for gardening and eating fresh.

“They had, in our science class, a lot of time in the garden. So I was probably about 10 or 11 - we learnt composting… I loved, as a kid, I planted this thing and would sit there patiently waiting, and then suddenly you go, 'it's grown and I can eat this' and it makes you so grateful for food,” Meghan said.

Meghan seems to be contracting herself while discussing her childhood. This is also not the first time the duchess is under fire for making conflicting statements.

Meghan Markle claimed to have struggled with finances

In 2021, Meghan Markle reportedly sent a letter to the US politicians, requesting them for paid parental leave.

“I grew up on the $4.99 salad bar at Sizzler – it may have cost less back then (to be honest, I can't remember) – but what I do remember was the feeling: I knew how hard my parents worked to afford this because even at five bucks, eating out was something special, and I felt lucky,” she wrote.

Meghan also claimed in her plea that “as a Girl Scout, when my troop would go to dinner for a big celebration, it was back to that same salad bar or The Old Spaghetti Factory – because that's what those families could afford".

“I waited tables, babysat, and piecemealed jobs together to cover odds and ends,” she added.

Meghan Markle’s estranged brother blasts her

But Meghan Markle's estranged half-brother Thomas Markle Jr recently slammed her claims about her childhood.

“That’s just another one of the malarkey stories she sold to the royal family for sympathy. We weren’t poor. She didn’t have to rub two nickels together at Sizzler’s salad bar," he said.

Also, earlier reports have said that Meghan was the student of Hollywood's private Little Red Schoolhouse, where stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland also studied.

At the school, she even got the opportunity to eat six different types of organic vegetables from the school garden each week. Meghan even attended $16,000-a-year Immaculate Heart Catholic School, one of the best schools of Los Angeles.