Meghan Markle is living out her great love story.
Meghan Markle is living out her great love story.
The 36-year-old Suits star stuns on the cover of the October issue of Vanity Fair and for the very first time is opening up about her romance with Prince Harry.
While the public attention surrounding her and the 33-year-old royal, whom she refers to several times as her “boyfriend,” has been a transition for Markle, she knows he has her back.
“It has its challenges, and it comes in waves—some days it can feel more challenging than others,” she tells the magazine. “And right out of the gate it was surprising the way things changed. But I still have this support system all around me, and, of course, my boyfriend’s support.”
The pair’s year-long relationship hasn’t come without scrutiny and speculations, but Markle insists she is able to tune it out.
“I can tell you that at the end of the day I think it’s really simple. We’re two people who are really happy and in love. We were very quietly dating for about six months before it became news,” she reveals. “And I was working during that whole time, and the only thing that changed was people’s perception. Nothing about me changed. I’m still the same person that I am, and I’ve never defined myself by my relationship.”
“I don’t read any press, I haven’t even read press for Suits,” she adds of the USA show that just celebrated its milestone 100th episode. “The people who are close to me anchor me in knowing who I am. The rest is noise.”
The prince and Markle have yet to officially appear in public together as an item, but they are very much a “couple,” she says.
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“We’re in love. I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time.. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours,” she shares. “But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”
As for who Markle is behind closed doors, the interviewer expresses that “her warmth is genuine.”
Tennis- pro pal Serena Williams tells the glossy that Markle's "personality just shines,” while friend and former Suits cast member, Abigail Spencer, adds, “When you’re talking to her, you feel like you’re the only person on the planet. And it’s just wonderful to see her so in love.”
Markle, who hails from California, elaborated on the support of her parents throughout her budding acting career.
“My parents had been so supportive,” she says. “Watching me audition, trying to make ends meet, taking all the odds-and-ends jobs to pay my bills. I was doing calligraphy, and I was a hostess at a restaurant—and all those things that actors do. My father knew how hard it is for an actor to get work, so he above all people was so proud that I was able to beat the odds.”
Rumors have swirled in the time since Markle completed her sit-down with Vanity Fair that an engagement is either on the horizon or may have already happened.
The publication goes on to delve into where Queen Elizabeth, Prince Harry’s grandmother, may stand on the possibility of a union between them.
Markle would be the first American to wed a member of the royal family since Wallis Simpson married King Edward VIII, which forced him to renounce the throne, nearly 81 years ago. The controversial moment in history played out in season one of Netflix’s The Crown, released earlier this year.
Sally Bedell Smith, who has written biographies of Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana and Prince Charles, speaks to Vanity Fair on the topic, noting “the Queen is remarkably open-minded and she’s very tolerant.”
“I would imagine that the queen’s view of this would be: if they’re in love and they’re well suited, then they should proceed,” Smith adds.
The release of Markle’s Vanity Fair cover comes one day after the announcement of royal baby No. 3.
For more on Harry and Meghan, watch below: