Meghan Markle Opens Up About Not Feeling 'sexy' During Pregnancy

We're all about candid conversations surrounding pregnancy, birth and everything in between – and it seems Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, is no different either. During the first episode of her new podcast, Archetypes, in which she sits down for a chat with close friend Serena Williams, Prince Harry's wife opened up about body image and sexuality while expecting.

As part of the episode, as well as exploring how Serena feels about her upcoming retirement, the tennis pro shared that she "loved being pregnant, I was one of those" to which Meghan replied, "I know, you loved it! Oh and with the belly chain, it was everything."

When reflecting on her own pregnancy experience, the Duchess spoke frankly and said that unlike Serena, she didn't always feel super 'sexy' or confident in her body (something that many will no doubt relate to and find refreshing coming from a well-known name).

"You made pregnancy look so sexy," Meghan continued, referring to Serena's love of wearing body jewellery whilst carrying her daughter Olympia. "I just waddled around, I was just tired. I was so tired."

Laughing in response, Serena added, "I was the annoying one, you were under a lot of stress" which Meghan then agreed, saying, "It's true."

It's not the first time that the Sussexes have spoken about pregnancy and body confidence either – back in 2019 after attending the WellChild Awards together, and not long after having welcomed their son Archie into the world, Prince Harry is believed to have made a remark about wanting to reassure Meghan when she was feeling insecure about her appearance.

Following the ceremony, it was reported that the prince stopped to chat with the mother, Eve, of an award winner. When asked by reporters about how the interaction went, Eve said that Harry seemed like a very supportive partner.

"They were very lovely. When she sat down I said, 'Oh you look amazing and you’ve just had a baby'," Eve shared. "[Prince Harry then looked at Meghan] and said, 'See I told you!'."

Whilst nobody should ever be made to feel self-conscious or bad about themselves, or their changing body during or after pregnancy, the fact is it's something that many do experience and struggle with (it's a huge change, after all). So, three cheers to Meghan for putting herself out there and speaking about it all in such a relatable way.

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Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.