Meghan Markle Shelves Her Anticipated Instagram Relaunch After Saying She Is 'Keeping My Distance' From Social Media

Meghan Markle was expected to return to Instagram after deleting her popular account to become a senior royal, but the Duchess of Sussex recently shared that she's avoiding the platform during a SXSW panel.

Public relations expert Rhea Freeman thinks the former actress used her time in Texas to put an end to the ongoing rumors about her potential social media usage.

"Based on her recent comments, I don't think a comeback is imminent," Freeman told an outlet. "The detrimental impact that social media can have on people from a mental health point of view, whether celebrity or not, can be huge, but looking at how other high-profile people manage their accounts, some of the tasks are delegated."

In the past, the Suits star admitted that negative comments online caused her to contemplate suicide.

At SXSW, Meghan discussed the work she and Prince Harry are doing in the digital space to create a safer browsing experience for people.

“Yes, social media is an environment that has a lot of that [toxicity] …I keep my distance from it right now just for my own well-being,” Meghan said on Friday, March 8.

“You have to really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. It’s not catty — it’s cruel,” she continued. “And certainly when you’re pregnant or you have a newborn, as moms you know it’s such a tender and sacred time."

In 2023, rumors spread that Meghan secured the Instagram handle @meghan, which currently has 121,000 followers.

In a cover interview, the brunette hinted at using the platform secretly.

“I’m getting back … on Instagram," she said in 2022.

OK! previously reported the Sussexes released a statement in February to celebrate a group of parents for fighting to meet with Congress to discuss protecting children online.

"We applaud the bravery and determination of the thousands of parents around the country whose advocacy resulted in this hearing," the couple said on their Archewell website.

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"Over the past few years, we have spent time with many of these families, listening to their heartache and their hopes for the urgent change that is needed in the online space," they continued.

In 2023, Meghan and Harry hosted Archewell's first in-person event, the Archewell Foundation Parents' Summit, in New York to discuss the effects of digital abuse.

"This is an issue that transcends division and party lines, as we saw today at the Senate hearing. The best parenting in the world cannot keep children safe from these platforms," they noted. "As one of the fathers shared with us: ‘If love could have saved them, all of our children would still be here.'"

Meghan spoke to The Cut.

Freeman spoke to The Mirror.