Meghan Markle Reacts to Her 2019 Viral Quote Saying 'Not Many People Have Asked If I'm Okay'

Meghan Markle cleared the air about a quote of hers that was taken dramatically out of context.

The 41-year-old Duchess of Sussex spoke about a comment that was included in the 2019 ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey during an episode of her and Prince Harry‘s Netflix series Harry & Meghan.

“Thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay, but it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,” Meghan said at the time in response to a question about how she was adjusting to balancing motherhood and being part of the royal family. The interview took place shortly after she welcomed the couple’s first child, Archie.

The comment went viral and was met with a negative reaction. Years after the fact, Meghan shed some light on her perspective of the situation and explained how it became “a huge turning point” for her and Prince Harry.

Click inside to see what Meghan Markle had to say about the viral moment…

“This was a royal documentary that the palace was green lighting. I guess I just assumed this was just gonna be a glossy version of a happy tour,” she explained.

“I didn’t know what he was gonna ask me. I hadn’t touched up my makeup. … I was just fried,” she added. “And I guess because I was so exhausted, I was just really grateful that someone seemed to ask me something like I was a human being. I just never thought they’d even use it in the documentary.”

Prince Harry noted that the quote was met with a “bonkers” response.

“Every single front page in the U.K. was very different to what the general public’s reaction was. When you would expect support from the people closest, we got the opposite,” he added.

As it turns out, the reaction to the quote played a role in the couple’s decision to eventually step back from the royal family. “It’s when we started having harder conversations about what needs to happen for us to be able to continue to make this work,” Meghan revealed.

This is not the first time that she has addressed the quote.

We rounded up every accusation lodged against Prince William and King Charles in Harry & Meghan.