What We Know About Prince Harry's Fear That Meghan Markle Was Going To Leave Him
Back in 2016, Prince Harry confirmed his romance with then-girlfriend Meghan Markle when the Palace released an unprecedented statement about the American actress' privacy. The statement called out the media for their coverage of Meghan's life, calling it abusive and containing "racial undertones."
"The past week has seen a line crossed," the 2016 statement by the Palace read. "[Meghan] has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public — the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments."
The statement went on to reveal that Meghan's life wasn't the only one being impacted by the excessive media attention. Meghan's mother was also being bombarded, and even had to call the police. Her co-workers, friends, and other loved ones were also said to be the center of the media's attention.
All of this took a toll on Harry and Meghan's relationship (via The Times), and reportedly even had Harry worried that the "Suits" star may think the attention too much and end their relationship.
Harry reportedly feared the media would ruin his relationship with Meghan
In the early days of their relationship, Prince Harry was said to fear that Meghan Markle may leave him because of the intrusive media attention their romance had garnered. In 2016, Meghan and Harry's relationship was plastered all over the newspapers and tabloids. The royal knew all too well how the media could interfere in a relationship, as he reportedly had previous relationships end due to intense violations of privacy, per Hello! Magazine.
The Times reported that Harry's surprising statement about Meghan's safety and privacy came at a time when he was worried that she would leave him because of the negative attention. Harry's former girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, even previously admitted that she "couldn't cope" with the constant attention.
Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry got through the worst of it and even tied the knot in 2018. Since that time, they have been very open about their struggles with issues such as mental health and being tabloid targets (via The Seattle Times). They are currently retired from royal life and live in California with their two children, Archie and Lilibet, per Geo News.