Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appear at the 2024 SXSW Conference.Photo:Astrida Valigorsky/Getty; SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty; SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty
Meghan Markleis opening up aboutPrince Harry’s“hands-on” parenting style.
On Friday, the Duchess of Sussex, 42, made an appearance at the SXSW Conference, joining an International Women’s Day panel called “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen” along withKatie Couric,Brooke Shieldsand author/sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen.
Meghan shared about what her experience was like as a brand-new mother — and howbullying on social mediacaused severe negative impacts on her mental health.
“The bulk of the bullying and the abuse that I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant, withArchieand withLili, and with a newborn with each of them,” she said.
“… When you’re a new mom, it’s a really vulnerable time,” the Duchess of Sussex explained. “The effect that social media can have on new mothers, even just the lack of sleep because they spend all this time scrolling, but it can also be really dizzying for them to see this portrayal of motherhood that looks so perfect when we all know it’s not perfect. We all know that it’s messy.”
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Gesturing towardsPrince Harry, 39, who sat front and center for the panel, Meghan thanked him for his support during her early days of parenthood, and revealed that he is “such a supporter of me and my family.”
“I’m fortunate in that, among the privileges I have in my life, I have an incredible partner,” Meghan said. “My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and my family. That I don’t take for granted. That is a real blessing. But a lot of people don’t have that same level of support. So I think for us, it’s about putting safeguards in so women and moms especially cannot feel like they’re even more vulnerable when they go online.”
The Duchess of Sussex has previously been open about how much Harry has supported their family throughout difficult times. In February, he appeared onGood Morning Americawhere he discussed his life as a father to the couple’s kids — ages 2 and 4 years old, respectively.
“I can’t tell you. That’s classified. It’s top secret!” he joked when asked about what he’s like as a father.
“No, the kids are doing great,” he added. “The kids are growing up like all kids do, very, very fast. They’ve both got an incredible sense of humor and make us laugh and keep us grounded every single day, like most kids do. I’m just grateful to be a dad.”
“Being a dad certainly adds another emotional layer to it,” the Duke of Sussex toldPEOPLEwhen about his support for service members. “When I was in the Army, I promised myself I would be out before having a wife and kids, because I couldn’t imagine the heartache of being apart for so long during deployment, the risk of possibly getting injured and the reality that my family’s lives could be changed forever if that happened.”
source: people.com
