ROYALSDespite 'Unbearable Grief,' Meghan Markle Was 'Ready' To Share Miscarriage Heartbreak
The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, talked about the "unbearable grief" she and Prince Harry had faced after she suffered a miscarriage over the summer in a heartbreakingly honest op-ed piece. While they were hesitant to share their experience, Harry and Meghan hoped their story would help others in their healing process while the duo tried to heal themselves.
"They kept their miscarriage private for months because it was very painful and not anything that they knew if they would ever want to share," a source told PEOPLE. "They both seemed shocked at how painful it was. Meghan was ready to share now because so many women go through the same thing in silence."
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Harry and Meghan's decision to share the extremely personal matter with the public strays away from royal norms, which emphasize keeping political and personal matters hidden behind closed doors. "She talked about the taboo of miscarriage," Ruth Bender Atik — the national director of the Miscarriage Association in the U.K. — said. "And I know that’s something that concerns a lot of people. And she talked about her feelings of both physical and emotional pain — for Harry too. It's important to realize that partners are affected."
In her candid piece written for The New York Times, the Suits alum described the moment she knew she lost her unborn child. "Something was not right," Meghan wrote. "I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm.
"I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child that I was losing my second," the 39-year-old wrote in the article titled "The Losses We Share."
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Despite suffering unbelievable grief over the summer, the power couple and their one-year-old son, Archie, are "doing well" and in "good health" as they prepare to celebrate the holidays in their new Montecito, Calif., family home. "They took the time off just to focus on family," the source said of the couple's first Thanksgiving together in America. The family of three gathered vegetables from their garden and were joined by Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland, "which always makes Meghan happy."
Harry and Meghan planned to return to the U.K. to spend Christmas with the royal family but had a change of plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Meghan's told Harry there's no way they’re leaving California, end of story,” a source exclusively told OK!.
While Harry's relationship with Prince William and other royal members has been deemed unrepairable, the 36-year-old was looking forward to spending time with his 94-year-old grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and taking part in royal holiday traditions.
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Luckily, his Hollywood wife has a few ideas up her sleeve to make Christmas special while Harry is so far from his family. "She's planning some socially distanced get-togethers with close friends like the Clooneys and, of course, her mom Doria, who will be spoiling Harry with presents and love," the source dished. As OK! previously reported, the couple's good friends David Foster and Katharine McPhee are to celebrate with the couple while they house hunt in the Harry and Meghan's celeb-filled Montecito community.
