Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, caused shockwaves in the royal family when she said in her now-legendary interview with Oprah Winfrey that she’d been having suicidal thoughts while living under The Firm’s official rules. Meghan wasn’t under any obligation to drop that particular bombshell, so why did she? At the RFK Foundation’s Ripple of Hope Awards in New York City (via Page Six), she explained, “I don’t want anyone to feel alone.”
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The duchess told the crowd that speaking honestly about your own experience “gives other people space and the courage to do the same,” but also helps you to feel less alone. “But ultimately, if you feel like there’s someone else that has a lived experience, they’ve gotten to the other side, and gave example of resilience, an example of ‘there is a happy ending,’ I think that’s what most people are probably seeking out in those moments,” she said. “And that’s why I made the decision to just say ‘if my experience can help someone else not feel the same way or to know that there’s hope then it’s worth every second of whatever comes with it.”
Meghan and Prince Harry were in New York City to receive their own Ripple of Hope Award, just before their hotly anticipated docuseries is set to hit Netflix. At this same gala, a reporter asked Harry, “Are you hurting your family?” and “Are you putting money before family?”
This question, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry declined to answer.
