Prince Harry's Ex, Cressida Bonas, Says That "Fear" Held Her Back from Joining the Royal Family

In a new interview, Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, gave a rare hint at why their relationship ended in 2014.

  • One of Prince Harry's exes, Cressida Bonas, recently gave a rare interview alluding to their time together.
  • The model and actress hinted that "fears" held her back from joining the royal family herself.
  • Harry and Cressida met in 2012 and announced that they had split amicably in 2014. She was a guest at his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle.

Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, just gave a rare interview about her royal split—and it's quite telling.

During an interview with The Daily Telegraph this week, the actress and model hinted that she had a lot of fears about joining the royal family and that those fears may have contributed to the end of her and Harry's relationship (which lasted from about 2012-2014). 

"The fear of failing, the fear of rejection, the fear of not getting it right, the fear of not being perfect…I think that has limited me in certain situations in my life," she said.

Given the treatment Harry's now-wife, Meghan Markle, has received since her royal relationship first took a turn for the serious, Cressida's fears don't seem unfounded at all. But, don't worry about her—she seems perfectly content with her romantic decisions, tyvm.

"I just think it has definitely given me a stronger sense of purpose and a stronger sense of what I want or don't want," she said of the split.

These days, Cressida is focused on her acting career, and promoting her new show, White House Farm.

"I think that I work very, very hard, I love what I do, and I just hope that this role has shown people what I can do and what I would like to do going forward and not be caught in a box in any way," she said of the show and where she is now.

Things clearly worked out the way they were meant to between Harry and Cressida because they both seem to be doing great (and there are obviously no hard feelings between the exes—Cressida was even a guest at Harry and Meghan's 2018 royal wedding).

windsor, united kingdom may 19 cressida bonas arrives at st george's chapel at windsor castle before the wedding of prince harry to meghan markle on may 19, 2018 in windsor, england photo by ian west wpa poolgetty images

'Cressida Bonas at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding in 2018.'

(Image credit: WPA Pool)

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Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.