Meghan Markle and Prince Harry recently appeared in their first joint interview since 2021, speaking in support of their latest initiative.
The Duchess of Sussex opened up about her decision to share her personal struggle with suicidal ideations, a topic that remains deeply personal and vital to her advocacy work.
On Sunday, Meghan and Harry sat down with CBS Sunday Morning‘s host Jane Pauley to discuss their new initiative aimed at raising awareness about the dangers social media poses to children.
During the interview, the couple emphasized their work with parents whose children have tragically lost their lives due to the negative impact of online bullying.
Reflecting on her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, where she first publicly discussed her mental health struggles, Meghan shared the importance of being open about such experiences.
“There is a through-line, I think, when you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma,” Meghan said. “I believe part of our healing journey, certainly part of mine, is being able to be really open about it. And I haven’t really scraped the surface on my experience, but I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way and I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans and I would never want someone else to not be believed.”
During her interview with Oprah, Meghan, who was pregnant with Princess Lilibet at the time, recalled a particularly distressing moment when she sought help from the institution. “I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help. I said that ‘I’ve never felt this way before, and I need to go somewhere,’” she recalled. “And I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
In the CBS interview, Meghan stressed the importance of sharing her experience despite the discomfort it might cause. “So, if me voicing what I have overcome will save someone, or encourage someone in their life to really just annually check in on them, and not assume that the appearance is good, so everything’s OK, then that’s worth it,” she said. “I’ll take a hit for that.”
The couple’s new initiative, The Parents’ Network, is part of their Archewell Foundation and focuses on bringing awareness to the risks social media poses to children and teens. For Harry and Meghan, this pilot program represents a crucial step towards meaningful change.
“I think you have to start somewhere,” Meghan said. “I think the simplest thing that anyone watching this or anyone that’s able to make change, look at it through the lens of what if it was my daughter, what if it was my son. My son or my daughter who come home, who are joyful, who I love and one day, right under my roof our entire lives change because of something that was completely out of our control. Look at it through the lens as a parent, there is no way to see that any other way, than to try and find a solution.”
Since their marriage in May 2018, Harry and Meghan have become parents to Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3. In the interview, they spoke about their “amazing” children and how their roles as parents influence their work.
“Our kids are young, they’re 3 and 5,” Meghan said. “They’re amazing. But all you want to do as parents is protect them. As we can see what is happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work there and we’re just happy to be part of a change for good.”
Harry echoed Meghan’s sentiments about the responsibilities of parenthood in the digital age. “At this point we’ve gotten to a place where almost every parent needs to be a first responder, and even the best first responders in the world wouldn’t be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of it,” he said.
Through their ongoing efforts with The Parents’ Network and other initiatives, Harry and Meghan continue to advocate for safer online environments, drawing from their personal experiences and commitment to their children’s future.