Meghan Markle has spoken up about “a huge medical scare” after giving birth. Credit: Gary Miller / GettyThe Duchess of Sussex made the powerful admission in the premiere episode of her brand-new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.
In her first episode, the 43-year-old sat down with friend and Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd for a candid conversation about postpartum health, business, and motherhood.
The two women opened up about experiencing postpartum preeclampsia, a rare condition “that occurs when you have high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine soon after childbirth,” per Mayo Clinic.
“We both had very similar experiences – though we didn’t know each other at the time – with postpartum, and we both had preeclampsia. Postpartum preeclampsia,” Markle said during the interview, cited by Daily Mail.
“It’s so rare and so scary,” she added. “And you’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly.”
Wolfe Herd chimed in: “And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children – but those things are huge medical scares,” describing it as “life or death, truly.”
The former royal didn’t clarify whether the condition came after the birth of Prince Archie, five, or Princess Lilibet, three, whom she shares with Prince Harry.
But Wolfe Herd, who has two sons, recalled seeing Markle debuting Archie to the world just two days after giving birth. “I mean, I’ll never forget the image of you after you delivered Archie, and the whole world was waiting for his debut,” she said.
“I was either just becoming or about to become a new mom, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, how is this woman doing this? How is this woman putting on heels and going and debuting a child in this, you know, beautiful outfit in front of the entire world?’”
“I could barely face a doorbell delivery for takeout food in a robe,” the 35-year-old joked, prompting laughter from Markle.
The Duchess called the Bumble founder a “wildly successful female entrepreneur” and “the kind of friend who just always seems to know the exact right thing to say when I need perspective”.
Wolfe Herd, meanwhile, reflected on Markle’s very public journey: “I do think there is so much to be said for your ability to exist, even in the presence of that…It takes a very strong cookie.”
Elsewhere in the chat, Markle opened up about balancing mom life and business from home in Montecito – the California home she and Prince Harry relocated to after leaving Frogmore Cottage in 2020.
“Lili still naps, she gets picked up early and she naps. She only has a half day in preschool. If she wakes up and wants to find me, she knows where to find me, even if my door is closed to the office,” she said. “She’ll be sitting there on my lap during one of these meetings with a grid of all the executives… I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“What I do love the most about having young kids, in this chapter while I’m building [my business], is the perspective that it brings,” she added. “You’re building something while your child’s going through potty training… and both are just as important… In your own world, that’s super high value. And in [Lilibet’s] world, that’s super high value.”
Wolfe Herd shared her own perspective on the mental load of entrepreneurship, saying, “The amount of time, Meg, that I wasted on being stressed, being miserable, being overwhelmed, being paranoid… I actually think I would have been more successful had I not been like that.”
Meghan responded: “But can you turn it off? I say this because last night, I was – you know when your brain goes in a loop? Those 3am loops, and you can’t stop overthinking the thing.”
Wolfe Herd revealed she now uses the “rule of fives”: “Will this matter in five minutes? Five hours? Five days? Yes or no. If it’s not going to matter in five years, throw it out the window.”
The podcast marks Markle’s latest venture after With Love, Meghan on Netflix and ties in with her new As Ever brand – already offering jam, teas, crepe mix, and shortbread cookies.
