The Duchess of Sussex is continuing to put her vulnerable side on display for royal fans, this time in a rare one-on-one interview with a British newspaper.
The former Meghan Markle allowed journalist Bryony Gordon of The Telegraph to tag along as she visited Luminary Bakery, a sustainable grassroots organization empowering disadvantaged women, for the celebration of the opening of their second location.
Throughout the visit, Gordon observed the duchess's touching interactions with the women at the bakery, many of whom have overcome obstacles. She offered a shoulder to cry on, tissues when necessary and small gestures that, as Gordon pointed out, aren’t “too Hollywood” but instead “too human.”
“One of the things I have realized since being here [in the UK] is that people have an expectation when I’m coming somewhere, so I’m like, let’s just be really relaxed, keep everyone nice and chilled, because at the end of the day we’re all just women,” Meghan said. “We all have a story to tell, and I feel honored that I am getting to hear yours.”
Last month, the duchess shared more of her own story when she opened up in ITV documentary about how she's struggling under the media's scrutiny as a new mom. She said she was warned before marrying Prince Harry that the tabloids would "destroy" her life. She welled up when the interviewer, Tom Bradby, asked if she was doing OK.
Gordon said the duchess had a similar reaction when Gordon asked how she was doing. Gordon then writes: "If I have learnt anything about Meghan in the time I have known her, it is that she is a doer, not a wallower. She lives in the solution, not the problem. She told me that she didn’t want people to love her — she just wanted them to be able to hear her."
That mission is still ongoing, and she's certainly taking action to make sure she's heard. In October, she filed a lawsuit against a British tabloid for publishing what was a private letter to her estranged father.
At the end of the day, the duchess told Gordon, she's hoping we can all just see the humanity in each other.
“I find that when you strip all the layers away, as people, and especially as women, we can find deep connection with each other, and a shared understanding,” Meghan said. “Our lives may be different, our backgrounds, our experiences, all varied, but I find that in these moments of connection it becomes abundantly clear that our hopes, our fears, our insecurities, the things that make us tick…. well, those are very much the same. And there’s comfort in that.”
