In her latest move, Meghan Markle has turned to podcast presenting as the host of Confessions of a Female Founder. The eight-part series sees the Duchess of Sussex speak to female founders and discuss “the success, the struggles, and the never-before-told stories” that go hand in hand with building a business.
For the podcast’s debut episode, Meghan, 43, sat down with close friend Whitney Wolfe Herd, the CEO of dating app Bumble. During the pair’s conversation, they spoke about navigating the world of business while Meghan also gave fans some insight into her family life, health and friendships too. To mark the show’s release, The Mirror takes a look at some of the biggest revelations from episode one…
In the podcast, the Duchess candidly shared her “scary” health battle and revealed that she suffered from postpartum preeclampsia. “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. It’s so rare and so scary,” she explained.
She added: “And you’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly. And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children – but those things are huge medical scares.”
The rare condition causes high blood pressure after birth and can cause symptoms including headaches and vision problems. Left untreated it can lead to serious complications, such as seizures and strokes.
As a mum to Prince Archie, five, and three-year-old Princess Lilibet, Meghan juggles her busy career with looking after her two young children. During the episode, the mum-of-two discussed her experience of balancing business with being a mum and revealed that Lilibet only goes to pre-school for half days.
“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. I don’t want to miss those moments. I don’t want to miss pickup if I don’t have to. I don’t want to miss drop-off.”
Prior to kicking off the interview, Whitney recalled how she first met Meghan after visiting her house dressed in a “disco cowboy outfit” for a New Year’s Eve party. As she recalled the story, Whitney explained how she and her husband were wearing rhinestone cowboy outfits, in keeping with a themed party they were heading to after seeing the Sussexes, when they met Meghan and Prince Harry.
“Yes, that was the theme for the party you were heading to after you had dropped by our place. It wasn’t the theme of our house. We were having one of those quiet… We have young kids, we aren’t having a ‘night out’ kind of New Year’s Eves,” Meghan explained, before Whitney added that Archie ran out in a PJ Masks – an animated superhero – costume to greet her.
As well as discussing business, Whitney called Meghan a “very strong cookie” for navigating her time in the public eye. As they discussed their experiences of being in the spotlight, Meghan then revealed her motto for getting through. “There’s going to be a point where you’re going to take a hit, and you’re going to have to decide whether you’re going to cower or your going to conquer and rise above it,” she said.
Following on from the Duchess of Sussex’s controversial Netflix show With Love, Meghan, the Mirror has launched its very own Royal WhatsApp community where you’ll get all the latest news on the UK’s most famous family.
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The podcast comes just days after Meghan released the first products from her brand As Ever. Despite the launch selling out in less than an hour, the Duchess had some concerns ahead of the launch, particularly when it came to getting the packaging right.
“A month ago I was absolutely consumed by packaging. Boxes. It was all I could think about. And I would sit there doing the unboxing in my head. Is there tissue paper? What about the packing peanuts? But they’re biodegradable? Where does the sticker go?,” she said.
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