Meghan Markle Opens Up About Revealing Suicidal Thoughts: If Telling Story ‘Will Save Someone…see more

Meghan Markle Opens Up About Revealing Suicidal Thoughts: If Telling Story ‘Will Save Someone…That’s Worth It’
Prince Harry and Meghan appeared on ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ to discuss The Parents Network, helping families with children impacted by traumas related to social media

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry want to make the online world a better place.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with Jane Pauley for a new interview that aired on CBS Sunday Morning on August 4. The prerecorded segment, which aired on Meghan’s 43rd birthday, discussed a new program called The Parents Network through their Archewell Foundation to support parents whose children have been impacted by traumas related to social media use. Following a two-year pilot program, the initiative is now available for parents in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

During the interview, Pauley asked Meghan about her decision to open up about her own thoughts of self-harm. In March 2021, the Duchess of Sussex said in a sit-down with Oprah Winfrey that she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”

Meghan, who has previously spoken about “bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online,” told Pauley that she recognized the “through-line” between her experience and that of children affected by harmful situations they encounter on the internet.

“When you’ve been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey — certainly part of mine — is being able to be really open about it,” Meghan said. “I really scraped the surface on my experience, but I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way and I would never want someone else to be making those sort of plans and I would never want someone else to not be believed.”

The Duchess of Sussex added, “If me voicing what I have overcome will save someone or encourage someone in their life to really, genuinely check in on them and not assume that the appearance is good so everything is OK, then that’s worth it. I’ll take a hit for that.”

As parents themselves, Meghan spoke about her desire to protect their two children, 5-year-old Prince Archie and 3-year-old Princess Lilibet, from harmful online content.

“Our kids are young — they’re 3 and 5. They’re amazing,” she said with a smile. “But all you want to do as parents is protect them.”

“So as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there, and we’re just happy to be able to be a part of change for good,” Meghan continued.

Pauley said, “You hope that when your children ask for help, someone, you know, is there to give it.”

Prince Harry, 39, chimed in, “If you know how to help.”

“At this point, we’ve got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder,” he continued. “And even the best first responders in the world wouldn’t be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this.”

Meghan encouraged everyone to “look at it through the lens of ‘What if it was my daughter? What if it was my son?’ ”

“If you look at it through the lens as a parent, there’s no way to see that any other way than to try to find a solution,” she said.

The Parents Network and its “No Child Lost to Social Media” campaign ties into the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ongoing work through their non-profit organization to provide a support network for parents dealing with grief or who have children managing mental health conditions resulting from their exposure to harmful online content.