Meghan Markle Shares Her Experience with a ‘Rare and Scary’ Health Issue
Meghan Markle Opens up About Facing a ‘Rare’ and ‘Scary’ Medical Condition
The Duchess of Sussex’s most recent statement is based on a private health battle that took place out of the public spotlight. For more information, continue reading!
Meghan Markle has disclosed a severe medical problem that she had while pregnant, calling it “so rare and so scary.” It was revealed in the first episode of the 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex’s new podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder.”
In the episode, which aired on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, Meghan and Whitney Wolfe Herd, the creator of the dating app Bumble, had an open discussion. The two talked about launching businesses, juggling family obligations, and their common experience after giving birth during the 50-minute conversation.
“Even though we were strangers at the time, our experiences with postpartum were remarkably similar. Additionally, Meghan disclosed that both of us suffered from postpartum hypertension.
Whitney asked, “Can you believe we both had that?”
“It’s so rare and so scary,” Meghan said.
High blood pressure and an excess of protein in the urine are symptoms of the illness, which, if left untreated, can have major or even fatal consequences, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The former “Suits” star, who is married to 40-year-old Prince Harry and has two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, continued by discussing the psychological and physical toll of managing a medical problem while continuing to be visible in the public spotlight.
“And you’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly,” Meghan said. “And you’re still making an effort to be there for them in the silence. You’re still wanting to be there in the calm, primarily for your kids, but those are serious health risks.”
Whitney went on, “I mean life or death, truly,”
In addition to discussing her health issues on the podcast, Meghan used her workday to think about raising her daughter.
“We became moms in the pandemic, post-pandemic culture where there is so much working from home,” the Duchess said in an interview with Whitney. “I never leave my house to go to work. This is my office.
“So oftentimes, Lili still naps, she gets picked up early and she naps, she only has a half day in preschool,” Meghan went on. Therefore, even though my office door is closed, she knows where to locate me if she wakes up and wants to find me. During one of these sessions, she will be sitting on my lap with a grid of all the executives. There is no other way I would have it.”
Meghan went on, “I don’t want to miss those moments,” “If I don’t have to, I don’t want to miss pickup. Drop-off is something I don’t want to miss.
“And I think what I do love the most about having young kids in this chapter while I’m building is the perspective that it brings because you’re building something while your child is going through potty-training, and both are just as important,” stated the former actress.
“You think, ‘Great, all right, where are the Cheerios? Excellent work. Ten minutes later, you are advocating for your team on a topic of great global importance. The value of something is really high in your own environment. And that’s really high value in [Lili’s] universe,” Meghan said.
On March 13, 2025, Meghan posted on Instagram to herald the debut of her new podcast. “I’m so excited to share with you something else I’ve been working on: ‘Confessions of a Female Founder,’ my new podcast with @lemonadamedia!”
“I’ve been speaking openly with incredible women who have scaled modest ideas into wildly successful enterprises and made dreams come true. while usual, the former actress wrote, “They’re opening up, sharing their tips, tricks (and tumbles), and letting me pick their brains as I build out my own business.”
“It has been incredibly enlightening, motivating, and enjoyable! (Because if we can’t enjoy this crazy adventure, what’s the point?) “April 8th is the first episode,” she said.
The Duchess of Sussex has already shared personal experiences in public, despite this being her first time hosting a podcast. Additionally, Meghan has been candid about a previous loss that had a significant impact on her family. She talked about the morning she suspected anything was off while spending time with her kid in an opinion piece published in the New York Times on November 25, 2020.
“In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage,” Meghan told the story. “Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.”
When she was holding Archie, who was one year old at the time, she described experiencing a sudden, intense cramp. “Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand,” she said. Wet from both of our emotions, I kissed his knuckles after feeling the clammy feel of his palm. I glazed over, staring at the icy white walls. I tried to visualize our healing process.
Later, Prince Harry wrote his own thoughts about that period in his 2023 memoir “Spare.” He remembered that on their first morning at their new Montecito house, Meghan started exhibiting symptoms of pregnancy loss.
He explained how he read the doctor’s body language to figure out what was going on when they hurried to the hospital. “When the doctor entered the room, I simply observed her face and body language without hearing a word she said. I was aware beforehand. Both of us did,” he wrote.
The pregnancy ended in July 2020. As they left the hospital with their “unborn child,” Harry said that the pair “both wept” and that he felt “totally hopeless.”
He went on, “A tiny package,” “We visited a location that was only known to us. As Meg sobbed, I used my hands to dig a hole and gently place the small bundle in the ground beneath a growing banyan tree,” he recounted.
Meghan Markle’s readiness to talk openly about her personal grief, parenthood, and postpartum health issues provides a unique window into issues that are frequently kept quiet.
Her experiences, which range from dealing with a life-threatening illness to grieving a miscarriage with her spouse, Prince Harry, reveal the hidden truths that lie beneath public personas.
