'They will destroy you': Meghan warned against marrying Harry

In an emotional interview, Meghan Markle has revealed she was warned against marrying Prince Harry by a British friend, revealing she was ‘naive’ about what being in the spotlight would truly mean.

The comments come as part of a one-hour ITV documentary, filmed during the recent tour of South Africa that she embarked on earlier this month with Prince Harry and baby Archie, which aired in the UK on Sunday evening.

UK Journalist Tom Bradby, who is a friend of Prince Harry, asked the Duchess what the last year had been like for her when she revealed she really had ‘no idea’ what was coming before marrying into the royal family.

“When I first met my now husband, my friends were really happy because I was so happy,” she said. “But my British friend said to me ‘I’m sure he’s great but you shouldn’t do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life’.”

She admitted she ‘naively’ thought that wouldn’t be the case and ‘didn’t get it’ at the time, before adding that it’s ‘been complicated’ since.

Meghan went on to add that she never thought it would be easy.

“But I thought it would be fair and that’s the part that’s really hard to reconcile,” she said.

‘It’s hard’: Meghan’s heartbreaking admission

In the same interview, Meghan also spoke about being both pregnant and a mother in the spotlight, admitting it has been ‘a struggle’ with the pressures she’s facing, and it’s not something that many have asked about.

When asked about the impact of pressure on her health, a video clip from the documentary shows the emotional duchess trying to answer.

“Look, any woman especially when they are pregnant, you’re really vulnerable, and so that was made really challenging, and then when you have a newborn – you know…” she said.

“And especially as a woman, it’s a lot. So you add this on top of just trying to be a new mum or trying to be a newlywed it’s, well…”

“And, also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes,” she continued.

The interviewer then asks the royal if she’s “not really OK, as in it’s really been a struggle?” to which Meghan replies: “Yes”.

A turbulent two years

Meghan Markle’s life has changed considerably in the past two years.

She’s married into one of the most famous families in the world and both sacrificed her career and became a mother.

As a result, she features in hundreds, if not thousands, of articles a week – both online and in print – and receives more media attention than almost any other person in the world.

The attention prompted Prince Harry to release an emotional statement addressing the treatment of his wife by certain media outlets in the British press.

The statement, published on the pair’s official website, followed the revelation that the couple are suing The Mail On Sunday for publishing one of Meghan’s private letters to her father, Thomas Markle.

Days later, it was announced that Harry is reportedly taking legal action against two other publications over “the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages”.

A number of celebrities have joined Harry in publicly defending Meghan.

George Clooney, who attended the former actress’ wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018, told a press panel that she’s been “pursued and vilified”.

Hillary Clinton has also defended the mum-of-one, telling The Sunday Times: “I do want to say that the way she's been treated is inexplicable.”

With additional reporting by Alison Coldridge.

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