Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • NYFW
    • Life In Plastic
    • Cari Champion
    • New Books
    • Postpartum Psychosis
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Meghan Markle Reportedly Had a Secret Instagram Page Just to Follow Her Friends

    But she deleted it to "protect her mental health."

    Lucy Wood's avatar
    By Lucy Wood
    Published 22 January 2019 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Duchess Of Sussex Announces Four Royal Patronages
    (Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Meghan Markle’s life has changed beyond recognition over the last couple of years. She’s now married to an actual prince, spends most of her time in palaces, and will give birth to a royal baby in just a couple of months. But all that pales in comparison when you remember the biggest change of all—she can’t even use social media anymore, you guys. IMAGINE.

    It was part of the deal when the ex-actress got serious with Prince Harry that her personal platforms across social media were removed, to try and retain some element of privacy for the couple. As a rule, royals with formal working roles such as Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and most recently Meghan, are forbidden from having their own social media accounts.

    However, a new report by The Sun seemingly reveals that the Duchess of Sussex was just as obsessed with Insta as the rest of us, and couldn’t resist still keeping a low-key online profile after all. It’s thought that actually, Meghan had a highly secret, disguised Instagram page specifically to follow her closest friends. Oh, don’t pretend you wouldn’t have done exactly the same thing. In fact, she learnt from the best—it’s widely known that Prince Harry went undercover as "Spike Wells" on Facebook for many years.

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    Event, Fashion, Outerwear,

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Unfortunately, before you begin the super sleuth operation to find her profile, Meghan’s Instagram days came to an abrupt end around Christmas. The source goes on to explain that, although it was fun while it lasted, the Duchess made the decision to shut down her private account. Apparently, the decision was made in order to “protect her mental health” against the damaging onslaught of negative media and frenzied headlines.

    Hair, Smile, Happy, Black hair,

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    “There was some really vile stuff written by social media trolls and obviously she also saw the headlines about her," the source said. “It really got to her and, in the end, she had to shut down that account just before Christmas, too, to protect her mental health. She felt very isolated and alone.”

    You may like
    • Meghan Markle holding Prince Harry's arm wearing LA Dodgers hats Meghan Markle “Is Taking One for the Team” For Prince Harry By Moving to Britain
    • Meghan Markle and Prince Harry match in navy blue outfits while attending an NBA game Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Release Emotional Message
    • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wearing sunglasses walking outside There's a "Significant" Reason Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Moving to the U.K.

    Wow, Instagram even makes a beautiful Duchess feel bad about herself. Social media is truly wild.

    RELATED STORY

    Event, Fun, Performance, Conversation, Photography,

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    Meghan Markle Held a Meeting with New Zealand's PM

    For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    SUBSCRIBE HERE

    Explore More
    Instagram Meghan Markle
    Lucy Wood
    Lucy Wood
    Social Links Navigation

    Lucy Wood spends most of her time writing about celebrity news, reading books, and waiting for the glorious day that she have enough millions for a pet sloth. She also has a YouTube channel on the go where she pretends to know things about fashion and life advice.

    Read more
    Meghan Markle holding Prince Harry's arm wearing LA Dodgers hats
    Royals Meghan Markle “Is Taking One for the Team” For Prince Harry By Moving to Britain
    By Kristin Contino
    Meghan Markle and Prince Harry match in navy blue outfits while attending an NBA game
    Royals Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Release Emotional Message
    By Amy Mackelden
     
     
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wearing sunglasses walking outside
    Royals There's a "Significant" Reason Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Moving to the U.K.
    By Kristin Contino
    Meghan Markle speaks onstage at Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2025 on October 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.
    Royals Meghan Markle Is Reportedly Planning An “Exit Strategy” In Case U.K. Move Goes South
    By Melody Rivera
     
     
    Latest in Royals
    Queen Elizabeth laying a wreath at the 9/11 memorial
    Royals Queen Elizabeth Broke Tradition With One "Ultimate Sign of Unity" After 9/11
    Princess Kate wearing a green dress at Royal Marsden hospital
    Royals Princess Kate Trades Fall's Trendy Moss Green for an Old Favorite Emerald Dress
     
     
    Princess Kate wearing a green dress and holding hands with a cancer patient
    Royals Princess Kate Reflects On the "Huge Difference" One Hobby Made on Her Cancer Recovery
    King Harald and Queen Sonja standing with Princess Astrid in a wheelchair
    Royals The Norwegian Royal Family Suffers Another Major Family Death
     
     
    Latest in News
    A still of Taylor Frankie Paul and Ben Lambert in 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.'
    TV shows 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Season 6 Is Already Filming. Here's All the Updates So Far
    Queen Elizabeth laying a wreath at the 9/11 memorial
    Royals Queen Elizabeth Broke Tradition With One "Ultimate Sign of Unity" After 9/11
     
     
    Ella Rubin and Amelie Hoeferle, who play sisters in 'Sterling Point,' attended a Chanel New York Fashion Week event together in little black dresses
    Celebrity Style 'Sterling Point' Stars Ella Rubin and Amélie Hoeferle Bring Sister LBDs to NYFW
    Princess Kate wearing a green dress at Royal Marsden hospital
    Royals Princess Kate Trades Fall's Trendy Moss Green for an Old Favorite Emerald Dress
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.