Prince Harry and Meghan Markle enjoyed a fairytale wedding back in 2018. Since then, though, they have endured tabloid pressure, navigated family racism, and even left behind their royal duties to start a new life in America. This might have made them a stronger couple, but several of Meghan’s childhood friends tried to keep this union from ever happening!
And one of those childhood chums, Simone Burns Dilley, opened up to Us Weekly about why she was worried about Meghan’s marriage. And because Dilley knew Meghan since their high school days together, she has a very unique perspective on Meghan and her relationship.
At first, it seems unthinkable that Dilley would fret over their marriage. After all, Meghan was marrying a prince, getting a royal wedding–in short, what almost every girl dreams of from a young age. But Dilley worried that, “She was divorced, she’s half-Black. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. They’re gonna be so mean to her.'”
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We don’t know how Meghan reacted to concerns from childhood friends or even if they stayed in touch past high school. But early on in Meghan and Harry’s relationship, Dilley’s concerns might have seemed unfounded. Harry was deeply in love with Meghan, and that should have been the end of the story.
Sadly, time has proven Dilley’s concerns were right on the money. British tabloids constantly attacked Meghan over trivial concerns, and they weren’t afraid to discuss her race or her relationship history. Most notoriously, the Mail On Sunday violated Meghan’s privacy by printing portions of a private letter that she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle.
However, tabloid pressure was only part of what Meghan went through after marrying Harry. As she revealed during their interview with Oprah, Meghan was lied to and silenced by the Royal Family. And at least one member of that family raised concerns over the skin color of her son Archie, who had not yet been born.
All of this pressure led Meghan to thoughts of self-harm, which is one of the big reasons that she and Harry left to start a new life in America. Perhaps they will find time to reach out to Simone Burns Dilley, who ended up being completely right regarding the challenges Meghan would face.