So this is a fan account of the Meghan evening:
Hi everyone - I promised a report back from the evening with Meghan at the Sydney retreat and here it is. I am reluctant to share photos because I don’t want them to end up in the hate media. Even with this post I’m worried about hate DMs, so let’s see how this goes.
First - it was an incredible event and I’m so happy I could go!!! One of the best moments of my life was meeting Meghan.
First thing they did group photos. I got to shake hands with Meghan (her small little dainty hand haha) and I said thanks for coming, and she asked for my name. Then I told her “You are so loved” because I just can’t believe the ridiculous hate she still gets online and I think she is lovely. She took time to say hello to everyone and was so wonderful and looks just as beautiful in person as she does on the screen. I thanked her again afterwards and I was so happy I wanted to cry. I know someone else gave her a hug.
Then was the main event – her conversation with Gemma. FYI this is all from memory as no recording was allowed. It opened with a Welcome to Country from a local First Nations woman. Then Gemma and Meghan came out, followed by Harry. When I saw Prince Harry come out the doors (he wasn’t advertised as coming) I went “Oh my God, Prince Harry!” It was such a pleasant surprise. Then Meghan came out and he helped her up the stairs on the stage and kissed her and of course we all went “aww”.
Gemma mentioned what a gentleman Harry is, and laughed that her partner didn’t help her up the stairs. Meghan talked about how being here without the kids meant the weekend was like a date night that we were crashing. You could just tell how in love they are and Harry was just beaming at this wife when she was on stage (he was sitting at a table in the audience just quietly supporting her). Meghan mentioned the story of the father in the family she babysat for her, who told her to marry a man who would always date her, and that’s what she and Harry do.
Gemma mentioned how hard it is to find a good male partner – she said if lots of green flags then her podcast community call them a “Kermit” like Kermit the frog. She mentioned three things men need – I can’t remember them all but one was emotional availability – and when she went through them, Meghan said “check” for each of them in relation to Harry. Harry mouthed “Ribbit” at her, like a frog which was very cute and got a laugh from the crowd.
Meghan talked about their first date and how she had been at Wimbledon in full glam and then washed off all the makeup for the date because she wanted him to see her as she was and “with freckles.” She mentioned wearing a blue and white Zara dress to the first date.
Gemma said that their third date, in a tent in Botswana must have been very intense. Gemma said “you must have been stripped bare” and Meghan laughed “Not quite!” which got a bit laugh from the crowd. Meghan relayed the story of seeing animal shadows in the tent (“Definitely not glamping”) and Harry promising to keep her safe.
They talked about how last time they were in Australia she and Harry announced they were pregnant with Archie and how things feel full circle. It’s been 10 years since she met Harry, which seems like forever because she was on Suits for seven seasons and that was such a milestone.
Gemma asked if Meghan would ever return to acting. Meghan said that after she was dating Harry it was really hard. It was a writers’ room of 11 people and Meghan implied that the Royal family had a say in scripts, because if Rachel Zane said something, the media would report that Meghan said it (we know this is verified – look up the story about “poppycock” dialogue). So because of this, Meghan said they watered down her character so much, that she would say “Here’s this file,” etc for a whole scene. She said if it was acting like that, she wouldn’t return to it. She would also want it to fit in with her life as a Mom. So she’s not sure, but she said “never say never”.
Gemma asked her about having chickens and Meghan said it’s great although you get a lot of “chicken shit” which was funny because I’ve never heard Meghan swear. Meghan said you need to the good and the bad, and that hard work always has drawbacks, with raising chickens as an analogy. Gemma asked if Meghan ever swear, because she says “Oh sugar” on With Love, Meghan and Megah says “I just did! It’s date night, remember!”. Lots of laughs from the crowd. Meghan followed this up by saying a well-timed swear word can be impactful. She said she wouldn’t swear on her show as it’s a show for the whole family, and she’s also careful of her language having young children.
Meghan talked about people’s impressions of her when they don’t know her. She said “I am what people need me to be”. She said if people need someone to hate, they use her, but some people need a rebel and say “I love Meghan, she’s such a rebel”. She said “I’m not, I colour in the lines, I’m a clean up as a I go girl” (referring to cleaning the kitchen as she goes, which she goes in the series With Love, Meghan. Apparently this is how her and Harry cook – she said he’s a great cook, and they always clean as they go).
Gemma asked how the children and their personalities. Meghan said their personalities are quite different. She “Archie is so tender – no one told me how much boys love their mothers”. She said Lili is a little firecracker and really funny. Lili really wants to be a mother, like Meghan was as a little girl. Meghan told the story of going to Kmart and buying a real diaper/nappy bag for her dolls rather than a toy one. Lili said she wants to have “102 babies, all girl babies” which everyone laughed at.
Gemma mentioned Meghan being an activist from an early age and mentioned the sexist washing up liquid campaign, where Meghan as a schoolgirl wrote to the company, Gloria Allred and a journalist. Meghan said it was amazing that she learned she could change things at a young age. Meghan then reflected on the state of things now, and how hard it is to be a woman. She said the day before this event she met young girls and talked about mental health. She said we have to tell these girls the truth, and she did tell them “these are multi-billion dollar industries and we’re not going to be able to change them”. Instead, she encouraged people not to share hateful stuff and to stop and pause when they see that content.
Meghan talked about the negative attention in the media and the trolling. Gemma relayed how she has experienced a very small fraction of it, organising this event and thought about cancelling. Meghan said “I’m so sorry for you” and “I wouldn’t wish that on anyone”. Meghan admitted it is still hard for her and Gemma praised her resilience. Gemma cried recounting a day when she got on the ground and just wanted to cancel the event and Meghan reached out to hold her hand. Meghan said that her and Harry have people that have worked with them in the institution, and still do, and others working for them for many years, and people wonder why they don’t speak and support Harry and Meghan in the media, and she says she understands they don’t because they will just so much hate for it.
Gemma said on a hard day she binged With Love, Meghan and felt better, and how Meghan probably didn’t intend the show to have that effect. Meghan said she wanted people to have that joy while watching. People wonder why she didn’t start a fashion line or make-up and she said during lockdown, with the slow living, she was growing berries and making jam and loved it. She said she wants to create those sensory memories for their children, where they come home and their mother is making jam and they can smell it. She said everything she does has to feel authentic and natural to her and so the jam making just happened organically.
The conversation ended with Meghan talking about female friendship and how much she loves being a friend. Meghan and Gemma have a mutual friend, Markus Anderson, and so Gemma said she knew what a good friend Meghan was. Meghan said she loves showing up for her friends when they need her. Meghan said maybe it’s because she was at an all-girls school for years, and later a sorority, but she loves the power of female friendship.
The night finished with Gemma gifting Meghan with some classic Australian kids’ book and an artwork of Meghan. Meghan was thrilled and said they already have some Australian kids’ books and Harry reads them to the kids with an Australian accent. Then Harry and Meghan left to much applause and we enjoyed our three course dinner.
It was a beautiful night and meeting Meghan was truly magical!"