Meghan Markle and Prince Harry News and Updates

[Anonymous]

This woman is soooooooo annoying. Just go away.

[Anonymous]

Well, this is an anonymous forum, so I'm going to go ahead and say the thing I'd never, ever say out loud to another person.

Sometimes very privileged women use miscarriage or other fertility issues as a way to shield themselves from people pointing out their privilege or holding them accountable for things they've done.

I have had fertility issues (though thankfully not miscarriage) and I'm all for being open and honest about this stuff and talking about it with other people. I am so grateful to the friends and family members who talked plainly about fertility before I went through it, because it kept me from feeling alone and relieved the inevitable feelings of self-blame that can creep in. And I do think having prominent women talk about this stuff openly helps. I was blown away by Chrissy Tiegan's willingness to share her late-term loss with people and to write in such a raw and immediate way. Similarly, Michele Obama talking about miscarriages in her biography in such a matter of fact way really normalized how common it is and that it's nothing to be ashamed of and not a reflection of your worthiness to be a mom. So this is not me saying we shouldn't talk about it.

But I've also seen a number of women "reveal" their miscarriages or fertility issues in ways that were clearly less about starting a conversation or bringing these issues to light, and much more about courting sympathy as a way to avoid criticism for other things. One was a woman I worked with who did some truly terrible things in a position of power, but used her ongoing fertility issues as a way to justify and explain away that behavior. Another was a woman you decided to kind of temporarily become an "advocate" around the issue of miscarriage (and wrote a tearful Facebook post about it) right around the time that she was coming under some criticism in our community for unrelated behavior. In both cases, it "worked" -- people felt bad for these women, started talking about how brave they were for talking about fertility/miscarriage, and promptly forgot about the very questionable behavior at issue. And neither of these women have ever done any actual work around these issues -- they just talked about them publicly for a while at a time that was convenient for them and have moved on with their lives. Certainly neither has ever reached out to me to talk about it or offered private or public support for any other woman going through this.

So when I saw Meghan's essay, even though I have zero issues with her personally and honestly like her, that was what I thought of. I'm not even sure I could have articulated the above until I saw the essay and had that reaction. But I read it and immediately thought of these other women and my reaction was, "Oh, she knows she's been getting bad press and this is a way for her to get some sympathy press." And it repulsed me. I believe she had a miscarriage, but something about the way it's being used specifically to deflect negative attention is really gross to me, and I've started to feel like this is the "out" of privileged women who want to reap the benefits of wealth or privilege without having accountability. "Oh, well what about my miscarriage!" and problem solved.

Anyway, yeah, I know these thoughts aren't ready for public consumption. But anonymous forum, so there you go. That's what I really think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t help but think the asking others if they’re ok is a dig at Kate.

Kate had severe morning sickness with each of her pregnancies. I don’t recall her whining in public.

Or writing opinion pieces about it... or acting like she needs to draw attention to the shameful shared experience and be brave enough to talk about it... correct me if I’m wrong but she had it so bad she was hospitalized. I’m sure there were moments where she was really scared for her baby and for herself... where her husband was really scared as well...

Kate and William also do a lot of work to promote mental health awareness and the normalization of seeking help for mental health issues. They do the work and part of thier message is it’s ok not to be ok. They seem invested in society and the well being of others. Meghan talks on and on about whether or not she is okay, but where is her commitment - real commitment - to any public health or societal issue of import???

And no, posing occasionally with villagers or reading your baby a book on camera and posting it so you can seem like mother of the year doesn’t count.

Yes, and it never comes across as “ look at me! look at me!! please look!”

The only 'work' they do is messaging. There's nothing substantive or any actual accomplishments from either of the two. They talk about mental health until they are blue in the face but how much have they raised, what organizations have they set up, how many new mothers have they matched with therapy services.

When Charles was 15 years younger than William he had already set up the Princes' Trust with accomplishments ranging from an entire cooperative village built to a working farm of organic produce to implementing green sewage treatments in his homes in the 60s to financing waste reduction and solar power implementation across the U.K. currently.

[Anonymous]

Do they want their personal lives to be private or not? Why would you reveal such intimate details of your life if you cherished your privacy?

[Anonymous]

I dont think its a coincidence that she has a new "head of communications" and "press secretary" and this piece comes out.

They know that that Africa tour interview is a major source of the negative public perception of MM, so they are trying to reframe that infamous "are you ok" line.

The issue is that it comes across as self serving. Sophie of Wessex and Zara Tindall shared their losses in a far less flashy and subsequently more sympathetic way.

All that said, I have suffered many miscarriages, and I know how heartwrenching it is. My sympathies to her and to anyone who has experienced this all too common loss.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How far along was she?

MM’s miscarriage story is making news at the same time Christina Perri lost her daughter—stillborn at 32 weeks.

Every loss is hard. But if MM was very early on, then her emotionally wrought write-up is a bit tone deaf.

I’ve suffered 3 MCs by the way. An early MC isn’t the same as a later loss.

Also: I hate it when people celebrity-splain things we already know and elevate it to something it is not for their own purposes. Miscarriage isn’t shameful, it is rather common, and she isn’t brave for sharing. Rather, she’s vying for sympathy to shift the narrative. She wants to be a celebrity who is adored. Gross.

I had these thoughts when I read the story too. I also assume that if MM was further along she would have included that detail in her writing.

She absolutely would have milked a late term loss. For now she is probably just trying to milk her 7 week loss for all its worth because she wants to be though of as brave for sharing her all too common story. Problem is too many people have been down the same road and think her piece is trash due to the way it's written. She's gross at this point, nothing else to say.

I would honestly be surprised at this take but I saw how people reacted the same way (negatively) to Chrissy Teigen sharing her loss.

Its weird to me. Miscarriage - late-term or early - is not talked about at all. People write about it years later once they have their 'rainbow' babies but the idea that its commonplace for famous or well-known women, or even regular, women to speak up on it is false. Especially if they don't have to. Someone mentioned Christina Perri - I doubt you'd even known she had a miscarriage if she hadn't been so public about posting nude shots of her body in the third trimester. She couldn't very well hide the loss.

I have no idea who Christina Perri is. And in my experience, I know who of all my close friends and family have had miscarriages. Most of them have. It's talked about like most other sensitive topics. Child birth, sex, infertility, breast lumps, etc. It may not be for public consumption but among close circles of women and family it is talked about. I just didn't bring it to work, or with casual acquaintances. I'm speaking for myself only but I have to think other groups of women haven't made it taboo. At least I hope!

Talking about it in 'whispers' among circles of women does nothing to change the public mindset or outlook.

Many young women go into pregnancies with a lot of 'secrets' hovering that they don't even realize could or will be realities until tragedy strikes.

Aside from all that - fostering a whisper network is good but if you ever want to change society or have people change the way its acknowledged - you have to speak up. This is what happened with abortion rights, voting rights, fair pay etc.

What needs to change? People get funny about any kind of death. Or cancer diagnosis or any other bad news. It makes people uncomfortable no matter what, I don't see miscarriage as different in that regard.

Education. I think women, especially young women (18-29), need to have comprehensive maternal education. Not just on what could go wrong with a pregnancy, or what a set of extra chromosomes means for a future babies development, but also how to pick a partner who will support you as a parent, what declining fertile rates means, what are the side effects of x-and-x birth control, or what to expect in labor-and-delivery, what it means medically for you or the baby to have a stillborn child.

I think the sex, procreation, and maternal health education in this country is woefully underdeveloped. But that's nothing new.

I don't see a celebrity role for that. That seems to mostly be education that should occur via the OB during prenatal visits, or for women at the appropriate ages where fertility is on the decline, at routine gynecologist check ups. Maybe doctors should initiative more discussion than they do rather than waiting for the patient to ask questions.

I agree with the poster before you - I'm very aware of the many of my girlfriends who experienced miscarriage. We've all be open about it, but frankly who else would even want to know?

[Anonymous]

I’ll bet she uses this as a launching pad for talk shows. Anything to stay relevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well, this is an anonymous forum, so I'm going to go ahead and say the thing I'd never, ever say out loud to another person.

Sometimes very privileged women use miscarriage or other fertility issues as a way to shield themselves from people pointing out their privilege or holding them accountable for things they've done.

I have had fertility issues (though thankfully not miscarriage) and I'm all for being open and honest about this stuff and talking about it with other people. I am so grateful to the friends and family members who talked plainly about fertility before I went through it, because it kept me from feeling alone and relieved the inevitable feelings of self-blame that can creep in. And I do think having prominent women talk about this stuff openly helps. I was blown away by Chrissy Tiegan's willingness to share her late-term loss with people and to write in such a raw and immediate way. Similarly, Michele Obama talking about miscarriages in her biography in such a matter of fact way really normalized how common it is and that it's nothing to be ashamed of and not a reflection of your worthiness to be a mom. So this is not me saying we shouldn't talk about it.

But I've also seen a number of women "reveal" their miscarriages or fertility issues in ways that were clearly less about starting a conversation or bringing these issues to light, and much more about courting sympathy as a way to avoid criticism for other things. One was a woman I worked with who did some truly terrible things in a position of power, but used her ongoing fertility issues as a way to justify and explain away that behavior. Another was a woman you decided to kind of temporarily become an "advocate" around the issue of miscarriage (and wrote a tearful Facebook post about it) right around the time that she was coming under some criticism in our community for unrelated behavior. In both cases, it "worked" -- people felt bad for these women, started talking about how brave they were for talking about fertility/miscarriage, and promptly forgot about the very questionable behavior at issue. And neither of these women have ever done any actual work around these issues -- they just talked about them publicly for a while at a time that was convenient for them and have moved on with their lives. Certainly neither has ever reached out to me to talk about it or offered private or public support for any other woman going through this.

So when I saw Meghan's essay, even though I have zero issues with her personally and honestly like her, that was what I thought of. I'm not even sure I could have articulated the above until I saw the essay and had that reaction. But I read it and immediately thought of these other women and my reaction was, "Oh, she knows she's been getting bad press and this is a way for her to get some sympathy press." And it repulsed me. I believe she had a miscarriage, but something about the way it's being used specifically to deflect negative attention is really gross to me, and I've started to feel like this is the "out" of privileged women who want to reap the benefits of wealth or privilege without having accountability. "Oh, well what about my miscarriage!" and problem solved.

Anyway, yeah, I know these thoughts aren't ready for public consumption. But anonymous forum, so there you go. That's what I really think.

This isn't something women just do with miscarriage or loss. They do it with pregnancy in general - using the birth or the conception to act as if they've 'reinvented' themselves when they're the same person they always were. It doesn't wipe away sin.

A good example of this currently is Emma Roberts who was arrested for beating her boyfriend and giving him black eyes twice.

https://gawker.com/emma-roberts-arrested-for-beating-her-celeb-boyfriend-t-811958888

She's now pregnant by a different guy and making earth mom posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How far along was she?

MM’s miscarriage story is making news at the same time Christina Perri lost her daughter—stillborn at 32 weeks.

Every loss is hard. But if MM was very early on, then her emotionally wrought write-up is a bit tone deaf.

I’ve suffered 3 MCs by the way. An early MC isn’t the same as a later loss.

Also: I hate it when people celebrity-splain things we already know and elevate it to something it is not for their own purposes. Miscarriage isn’t shameful, it is rather common, and she isn’t brave for sharing. Rather, she’s vying for sympathy to shift the narrative. She wants to be a celebrity who is adored. Gross.

I had these thoughts when I read the story too. I also assume that if MM was further along she would have included that detail in her writing.

She absolutely would have milked a late term loss. For now she is probably just trying to milk her 7 week loss for all its worth because she wants to be though of as brave for sharing her all too common story. Problem is too many people have been down the same road and think her piece is trash due to the way it's written. She's gross at this point, nothing else to say.

I would honestly be surprised at this take but I saw how people reacted the same way (negatively) to Chrissy Teigen sharing her loss.

Its weird to me. Miscarriage - late-term or early - is not talked about at all. People write about it years later once they have their 'rainbow' babies but the idea that its commonplace for famous or well-known women, or even regular, women to speak up on it is false. Especially if they don't have to. Someone mentioned Christina Perri - I doubt you'd even known she had a miscarriage if she hadn't been so public about posting nude shots of her body in the third trimester. She couldn't very well hide the loss.

I have no idea who Christina Perri is. And in my experience, I know who of all my close friends and family have had miscarriages. Most of them have. It's talked about like most other sensitive topics. Child birth, sex, infertility, breast lumps, etc. It may not be for public consumption but among close circles of women and family it is talked about. I just didn't bring it to work, or with casual acquaintances. I'm speaking for myself only but I have to think other groups of women haven't made it taboo. At least I hope!

Talking about it in 'whispers' among circles of women does nothing to change the public mindset or outlook.

Many young women go into pregnancies with a lot of 'secrets' hovering that they don't even realize could or will be realities until tragedy strikes.

Aside from all that - fostering a whisper network is good but if you ever want to change society or have people change the way its acknowledged - you have to speak up. This is what happened with abortion rights, voting rights, fair pay etc.

What needs to change? People get funny about any kind of death. Or cancer diagnosis or any other bad news. It makes people uncomfortable no matter what, I don't see miscarriage as different in that regard.

Education. I think women, especially young women (18-29), need to have comprehensive maternal education. Not just on what could go wrong with a pregnancy, or what a set of extra chromosomes means for a future babies development, but also how to pick a partner who will support you as a parent, what declining fertile rates means, what are the side effects of x-and-x birth control, or what to expect in labor-and-delivery, what it means medically for you or the baby to have a stillborn child.

I think the sex, procreation, and maternal health education in this country is woefully underdeveloped. But that's nothing new.

I don't see a celebrity role for that. That seems to mostly be education that should occur via the OB during prenatal visits, or for women at the appropriate ages where fertility is on the decline, at routine gynecologist check ups. Maybe doctors should initiative more discussion than they do rather than waiting for the patient to ask questions.

I agree with the poster before you - I'm very aware of the many of my girlfriends who experienced miscarriage. We've all be open about it, but frankly who else would even want to know?

Apparently the women who have not already gone through miscarriages or maybe they women who don't have a circle of girlfriends to lean on.

[Anonymous]

I commented in the times that I never felt a miscarriage stigma. I had two and found much solace, comfort and connection with many women in my life surrounding it. From my mother to cousins to friends to the neighbor across the street who immediately understood, expressed sympathy and shared how when she miscarried she bled through her white dress while teaching...you learn pretty quickly you are not alone. it is just interesting that at her age she had not heard or experienced this with any of the women in her circle. So when it happened to her, the door would have been opened already to the topic and access to the understanding women easily and kindly give each other surrounding this issue. Perhaps her friends were more private. I think she has needed the "are you ok?" probably from when she was a very little girl but now has the ability to ask.

[Anonymous]

Nobody is surprised a nearly 40 yo divorcée has fertility issues. This spoiled woman just doesn't quit with the melodrama, victimhood crap and attention craving. She's clearly ripping Chrissy Teigan with this latest effort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How far along was she?

MM’s miscarriage story is making news at the same time Christina Perri lost her daughter—stillborn at 32 weeks.

Every loss is hard. But if MM was very early on, then her emotionally wrought write-up is a bit tone deaf.

I’ve suffered 3 MCs by the way. An early MC isn’t the same as a later loss.

Also: I hate it when people celebrity-splain things we already know and elevate it to something it is not for their own purposes. Miscarriage isn’t shameful, it is rather common, and she isn’t brave for sharing. Rather, she’s vying for sympathy to shift the narrative. She wants to be a celebrity who is adored. Gross.

I had these thoughts when I read the story too. I also assume that if MM was further along she would have included that detail in her writing.

She absolutely would have milked a late term loss. For now she is probably just trying to milk her 7 week loss for all its worth because she wants to be though of as brave for sharing her all too common story. Problem is too many people have been down the same road and think her piece is trash due to the way it's written. She's gross at this point, nothing else to say.

I would honestly be surprised at this take but I saw how people reacted the same way (negatively) to Chrissy Teigen sharing her loss.

Its weird to me. Miscarriage - late-term or early - is not talked about at all. People write about it years later once they have their 'rainbow' babies but the idea that its commonplace for famous or well-known women, or even regular, women to speak up on it is false. Especially if they don't have to. Someone mentioned Christina Perri - I doubt you'd even known she had a miscarriage if she hadn't been so public about posting nude shots of her body in the third trimester. She couldn't very well hide the loss.

I have no idea who Christina Perri is. And in my experience, I know who of all my close friends and family have had miscarriages. Most of them have. It's talked about like most other sensitive topics. Child birth, sex, infertility, breast lumps, etc. It may not be for public consumption but among close circles of women and family it is talked about. I just didn't bring it to work, or with casual acquaintances. I'm speaking for myself only but I have to think other groups of women haven't made it taboo. At least I hope!

Talking about it in 'whispers' among circles of women does nothing to change the public mindset or outlook.

Many young women go into pregnancies with a lot of 'secrets' hovering that they don't even realize could or will be realities until tragedy strikes.

Aside from all that - fostering a whisper network is good but if you ever want to change society or have people change the way its acknowledged - you have to speak up. This is what happened with abortion rights, voting rights, fair pay etc.

What needs to change? People get funny about any kind of death. Or cancer diagnosis or any other bad news. It makes people uncomfortable no matter what, I don't see miscarriage as different in that regard.

Education. I think women, especially young women (18-29), need to have comprehensive maternal education. Not just on what could go wrong with a pregnancy, or what a set of extra chromosomes means for a future babies development, but also how to pick a partner who will support you as a parent, what declining fertile rates means, what are the side effects of x-and-x birth control, or what to expect in labor-and-delivery, what it means medically for you or the baby to have a stillborn child.

I think the sex, procreation, and maternal health education in this country is woefully underdeveloped. But that's nothing new.

I don't see a celebrity role for that. That seems to mostly be education that should occur via the OB during prenatal visits, or for women at the appropriate ages where fertility is on the decline, at routine gynecologist check ups. Maybe doctors should initiative more discussion than they do rather than waiting for the patient to ask questions.

I agree with the poster before you - I'm very aware of the many of my girlfriends who experienced miscarriage. We've all be open about it, but frankly who else would even want to know?

Apparently the women who have not already gone through miscarriages or maybe they women who don't have a circle of girlfriends to lean on.

Again, that information is probably relayed directly to the woman affected by her doctor. Suggesting that women have an obligation to "speak up" about highly painful matters to people other than their close girlfriends is to me, inappropriate. It's hard enough to go through a miscarriage much less to feel a societal obligation to broadcast that news.

[Anonymous]

Meghan is trying to be in the same league as Chrissy Tiegan and Michelle Obama.

[Anonymous]

I think the timing was poor. Given Chrissy Teigen's very recent, very public excruciating experience, plus implying experience of an early miscarriage is somehow on par with the suffering experience during a pandemic just makes her tone-deaf as usual. I have compassion for anyone who's gone through this who hasn't published a self-absorbed and self-pitying "look at me" piece in The NY Times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Meghan is trying to be in the same league as Chrissy Tiegan and Michelle Obama.

She's already way past Chrissy. Sorry Blood Prince trumps Singer (amazing as he is). President trumps Blood Prince. That's how that works.

What trumps President? Billionaire.