Meghan Markle claims the majority of the online abuse she has received occurred either when she was pregnant or had recently given birth.
“The bulk of the bullying and the abuse that I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant — with Archie and with Lili — and with a newborn with each of them,” the “Suits” alum, 42, said at a SXSW panel Friday.
The Duchess of Sussex participated in the discussion about online trolling alongside Brooke Shields, Katie Couric, and author and sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen.
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Markle then asked the audience, including husband Prince Harry, to “wrap [their heads] around why people would be so hateful.”
“It’s not catty, it’s cruel,” she added. “Why you would do that?”
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Markle gave birth to Prince Archie while she was still a working member of the royal family in May 2019.
Princess Lilibet arrived two years later after the Sussexes quit their royal duties and moved to California.
Markle has been open in the past about her struggles with online hate.
During her and Harry’s sit-down with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, she revealed she contemplated ending her life in part because of the vitriol that she had endured.
The mother of two then shared at a gala in NYC, “Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially because I know how much loss he has suffered, but I knew that if I didn’t say it, then I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
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At Friday’s SXSW panel, Markle also took time to gush over Harry for being an “incredible partner.”
“I am fortunate, in that amongst the privileges I have in my life, I have an incredible partner,” said. “My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and our family and that I don’t take for granted. It’s a real blessing.”
On Thursday evening, the couple enjoyed a romantic date night at the Soho House in Austin ahead of Markle’s panel appearance, for which she was billed as a “visionary female leader.”
