Meghan Markle has revealed that she experienced the “pain and grief” of miscarriage earlier this year. The Duchess of Sussex, who is already mom to 18-month-old Archie with Prince Harry, penned an op-ed for the New York Times on Wednesday, November 25, shared the loss of the couple’s second child, which happened in July 2020 and left her feeling “an almost unbearable grief.”
- The day began like any other. Markle wrote that the morning of her miscarriage “began as ordinarily as any other day” with her making breakfast, feeding the dogs, and tending to Archie. There was nothing to suggest the day would be anything like what it turned out to be.
- A “sharp cramp” changed everything. She knew immediately that something wasn’t right, writing, “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.” A few hours later at the hospital, she and Prince Harry grieved the loss of Markle’s pregnancy. “Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal,” she shared.
- It’s important to ask people if they’re okay. Markle went on to say that she remembered clearly the incident in which her honest reply to being asked if she’s okay by a reporter in South Africa last year caused a public discourse. She realized how important that very question was as we so rarely ask each other how we’re truly doing. It was the only question she could think to ask Harry in the aftermath of her loss.
- Now more than ever, we need to come together. The general crux of Markle’s piece was simple: we need to come together more. We need to check on each other, look after each other, offer what help we can to each other. We’re living in a world that can be very scary and divisive sometimes, which is why it’s so important that we find ways to connect and to truly care for our fellow human beings.
- There is, however, hope for the future. “We are adjusting to a new normal where faces are concealed by masks, but it’s forcing us to look into one another’s eyes — sometimes filled with warmth, other times with tears. For the first time, in a long time, as human beings, we are really seeing one another,” Markle concludes. “Are we OK? We will be.”
