- According to a new report, Kate Middleton reached out to her sister-in-law, Meghan Markle, after the latter admitted in an interview that she was "not okay" living life as a royal.
- Royal correspondent Rebecca English shared the new detail in a column for the Daily Mail.
- According to English, both Kate and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, reached out to Meghan after the emotional interview but were "rebuffed."
Kate Middleton reportedly tried—and failed—to reach out to Meghan Markle during one of the Duchess of Sussex's most emotional moments as a working royal.
The tough period in question? Shortly after the premiere of ITV's documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which included an emotional interview with Meghan in which she admitted she was "not okay" navigating life as a royal.
"Any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging," Meghan explained during the interview. "And then when you have a newborn, you know. And especially as a woman...it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. It’s um…yeah. I guess, also 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."
When interviewer Tom Bradby asked if it was fair to say that Meghan was "not really OK," she simply replied, "yes."
According to royal correspondent Rebecca English, at least two other members of the royal family reached out to Meghan after the emotional interview, but their attempts to offer support were not well-received.
"William was also deeply hurt by suggestions from the Sussex camp that he, and particularly his wife, had cold-shouldered Meghan," English wrote in a new column for the Daily Mail. "In fact, I have been told that Kate—and the Countess of Wessex—both repeatedly 'reached out' to the Duchess, particularly after she voiced her unhappiness on a television documentary. But they were rebuffed."
Meghan later clarified the statement during an interview for the Teenager Therapy podcast in October 2020, explaining that she was exhausted, breastfeeding while on the royal tour, and about to give her son, Archie, who was five months old at the time, a bath.
"I didn’t think about that answer. I just answered honestly," Meghan explained on the podcast. "I was in a moment of vulnerability, because I was tired, because there was no presentation. It was just, here’s where I am: I’m a mom with a four-and-a-half month-old baby and we are tired. But I think the reason it resonated with people is because everyone wants to be asked if they’re okay."
