Meghan Markle is opening up about how constant media attention affects her life — and what it could mean for her children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, spoke with Emily Chang on The Circuit, part of Bloomberg Originals, in an interview released Aug. 26. The conversation came as season 2 of her Netflix lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, premiered.
When asked what she wished people understood about her, Meghan said, “I think when I sit with it for a second here, I just want people to know that I’m a real person.”
She explained that nonstop coverage can feel “super dehumanizing.” “When you look at the clickbait culture and how much is written about someone, it’s like, no, my friends have to read those things,” she said.
“Like I have real best friends, the same one since I was 17,” Meghan continued. “I’m a real mom. I choose to do school pickup and drop off, but I do that under a landscape that forgets I’m a real person. And how would you want someone to treat a real person in your life that you cared about or loved or respected? That often gets lost.”
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She added that while she tries to brush off media portrayals, she worries about the impact on her kids. “Yes, I can say, ‘That’s a caricature.’ But my kids will see those magazines, and we all know moms gossip,” Meghan said. “So I have to make a choice to move through the world as myself, despite all the noise. But maybe there would be less noise if people remembered that I’m a real person.”
“You’re a real person,” Chang replied.
“Pinch me. I’m real. She’s real. She’s a real person,” Meghan joked.
Meghan and Prince Harry moved to California in 2020 after stepping back from royal duties in the U.K. She previously told PEOPLE that their hometown of Montecito feels “protective” of her family.
“Once you know us, I think you want us to have the same normalcy as parents and for our children as they do, despite however unique our situation is,” she said.
For Meghan, that normalcy includes simple outings. “We go to a lot of dinners, and not just in people’s homes or private rooms; we just go into the restaurant,” she shared. “I really love that we can just have fun.”
In her interview on The Circuit, Meghan also spoke about the royal rule that felt “inauthentic” to her and cleared up questions about her legal name, which became a topic of discussion during season one of With Love.
