Prince Harry Says Meghan Markle Saved Him from Being Stuck

He also detailed a fight between them that led him to begin therapy, afraid of losing her.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle
(Image credit: Getty)

Prince Harry opened up more about his feelings for wife Meghan Markle yesterday, speaking to trauma expert Dr. Gabor Maté in a 90-minute virtual book event to continue to promote his memoir, Spare, released January 10 to much fanfare.

During the intimate conversation, Harry shared how Meghan changed his life, telling Maté, per People, “My wife saved me. I was stuck in this world, and she was from a different world and helped draw me out of that. But none of the elements of my life now would have been possible without me seeing it for myself.”

Harry met Meghan over the summer of 2016. The romance progressed quickly, and the two announced their engagement in November 2017 before marrying on May 19, 2018. They are now parents to son Archie and daughter Lilibet and relocated in 2020 from Harry’s native U.K. to Meghan’s native California.

“My partner is an exceptional human being, and I’m eternally grateful for the wisdom and the space that she has been able to give me,” Harry said.

Like with every couple, Harry and Meghan’s story was not and is not perfect, and Harry recalled a fight between the two during which Meghan threatened to leave Harry, per Page Six.

“I really needed that,” Harry said. “I needed that pushback” amidst the thought of “losing her.”

In Spare, Harry recalled the fight, confessing that he “became touchy” and “snapped” after a conversation with Meghan “took an unexpected turn.” He wrote of becoming “disproportionately, sloppily angry,” addressing Meghan “harshly” enough that “everything in the room [came] to a stop.” After a brief pause, Meghan calmly let Harry know “that she would never stand for being spoken to like that.”

Harry called Meghan’s calm questioning of where he learned to speak to someone like that “a lightbulb moment.”

“An understanding of how these things manifest themselves and how we are so much a product of our upbringing,” Harry said.

Harry has mentioned this incident before, including in 2021, when he said “It was meeting and being with Meghan, I knew that if I didn’t do therapy and fix myself, that I was going to lose this woman who I could see spending the rest of my life with.”

Rachel Burchfield
Contributing Royal Editor

Rachel Burchfield is a writer whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family. In addition to serving as the royal editor at Marie Claire, she has worked with publications like Vogue, Vanity Fair, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, and more. She cohosts Podcast Royal, a show that provides candid commentary on the biggest royal family headlines and offers segments on fashion, beauty, health and wellness, and lifestyle.