Meghan Markle’s journey from Suits star to duchess and a mother has not exactly all been the fairytale many imagined, and her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, is where she gets real about it all—from health scares during pregnancy to discovering ancient wellness secrets that helped her through. And now, she is opening up again—this time about what motherhood really looks like.

In addition to tales of first-time investments and quiet moments with her children, Meghan Markle speaks up about what really happened during her transition to motherhood—strength, silence, and the blurred lines between dreams and reality in her ongoing journey.

Meghan Markle’s vision of motherhood was Hollywood-hued, shaped by a vision of giving "a speech with a baby on my hip”. On her latest Confessions of a Female Founder podcast episode, the Duchess of Sussex, shared how she always wanted to be a mom and dreamed of balancing royal duties while rocking that baby-in-arms look. Life, however, dealt her a curveball — thanks to the whirlwind of royal expectations. "It was not the way I envisioned it," confessed the former actress.

Markle shared saying, “I had a lot of external things happening.” Looking back, this likely reflects the intense scrutiny she faced after Prince Archie’s 2019 birth and the family’s move to California following their step back from royal life. By 2021, with Princess Lilibet, she and Prince Harry chose privacy over pomp. Still, Markle stayed focused on being a working mom and stressed how important it was for her kids to see her showing up and working hard. Like this—and time and again—Markle has used her podcast to get real about how her life often takes unexpected turns.

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While her latest reflections on motherhood made headlines, just a few weeks earlier she opened up about the harder days—the ones where pain runs deep but duty calls louder.

Not every royal moment is polished, and Meghan Markle made that clear on the May 6 episode of her podcast Confessions of a Female Founder. Speaking to Clevr Blends co-founder Hannah Mendoza, Markle shared how hard it was to keep smiling through painful days. As reported by Harper’s Bazaar, she explained leaning on “someone who understands it” helps, adding that “some days are going to be harder to show up as your best and shiniest self.” But the show—her life—must go on.

While chatting with Mendoza, Markle also recalled being “very pregnant” when a friend sent her a gift basket that included Clevr Blends—an unexpected start to her investment journey. “It’s so bizarre, because I didn’t have a portfolio at the time,” she admitted. That same week brought explosive emotional headlines as Prince Harry’s UK security plea was denied. On May 6, Prince Archie turned six. And Markle, just like in her Suits days, kept showing up—this time with real-life stakes and tiny feet running around.

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What do you think about Meghan Markle’s vision of motherhood? Let us know in the comments.