With Harry, Meghan Had Everything to Lose
The world thought Meghan's life would get a glow up once she married Prince Harry, but the truth turned out to be quite different.
Before Prince Harry, the paparazzi, and the British Royal Family, there was just Meghan.
A self-made millionaire living in a chic three-bedroom home in Toronto.
Meghan had Suits, The Tig — her wildly successful lifestyle blog, Doria her loving mom, and a boatload of loyal friends to travel the world with.
If she wasn’t Sipping Sangria in Spain, she was soaking up the sun in St. Barth’s or ringing in the New Year in Iceland.
And when the future Duchess of Sussex wasn't globetrotting or filming, she was dedicating her time to critical human rights issues.
By all measures, Meghan had a pretty sweet and fulfilling life.
Nothing to Lose
But once Harry & Meghan became the world’s most iconic couple, that no longer mattered.
Everyone was so caught up in their royal fairytale romance, its implications, and subsequent drama they forgot Meghan was a whole damn person.
The not-so-underlying message was (and still is) that Meghan had everything to gain and nothing to lose in her relationship with Harry.
But what if the reverse was true?
What if Meghan had everything to lose and Harry had everything to gain?
I’m pretty sure Harry sees it this way, and it's a big part of why he was so panic-stricken by the prospect of the relationship going public.
He knew once the press found out and the royal family got involved, Meghan would lose her life as she knew it.
And because Meghan had an excellent existence, perhaps she would start wondering if it was worth giving up for what amounted to life in a desolate gilded cage.
Meghan certainly wouldn't have been the first famous and wealthy woman to leave Harry after the realities of royal life came into focus.
Before Meghan, there was Chelsy Davy, Cressida Bonas, and Caroline Flack. All of whom left Harry over his royal standing and the glaring media spotlight that came with it.
A Living Hell
Meghan, in terms of the press attention was no different.
No less than 24 hours after news of the relationship broke the paparazzi descended upon Toronto like a swarm of locusts.
They harassed Meghan’s neighbors, co-workers, friends and ex-husband.
Hell even the local barista got the once over.
Meanwhile her mom was an entire country away coping with her own life being turned upside down by the press.
Filming Suits became increasingly difficult because security on the set had to be massively stepped up.
Eventually, the press got so invasive Meghan was forced to flee her home to hole up at her former bestie, Jessica Mulroney’s house.
At that point, even her closest friends and allies began quietly questioning whether the relationship was worth it.
Royal Concessions
Then came the concessions Meghan made to join the royal family: giving up her acting career, her lifestyle blog, all her social media accounts, her homeland, even the right to vote.
She married into one of Britain's most famous and arguably toxic families, where she was subjected to bullying, classism, racism, and sexism.
The British media launched an all-out hate campaign against her.
And by the time it was all said and done, an incredibly bright, prosperous, and well-adjusted woman was on the brink of taking her own life.
Everything to Gain
So, Harry left his world to join Meghan's. And what has he gained?
Seemingly everything:
He's broken a multi-generational toxic relationship with the British press.
As Chief Impact Officer of BetterUp and a New York Times best seller, he is no longer financially dependent on the British royal family or indebted to the monarchy.
He still leads a life of service, partnering with charities worldwide, including in the U.S. and the U.K.
He lives in a beautiful 18,000-square-foot home in one of the most exclusive zip codes in the United States with his beautiful family.
And he's now afforded a level of privacy he's never known.
Of course, there are no crowns, tiaras, vast royal estates, or State Banquets at Buckingham Palace.
But in the end, that doesn't seem to matter, does it?
And it never really did.
Because not far underneath the pomp and pageantry of royal life lies a cold, unforgiving, and isolating existence.
The details of which I don't need to lay bare, as we've all watched the brutal realities of marrying into royalty in real-time.
Harry knew long before the rest of us that he had everything to gain and nothing to lose in his relationship with Meghan.
And there's no more apparent evidence of this than the life the couple leads today.