Meghan Markle interview: REVELATIONS on life in Montecito

In an interview with ‘People’, Meghan Markle shared her new surname, her life as a mom in Montecito and what Harry likes for breakfast.

Meghan Markle sat down for a new interview with 'People' magazine to mark the release of her show, 'With Love, Meghan'. Image: Northern Ireland Office via Wikimedia Commons/ Instagram via @thatssosussex

Meghan Markle sat down for a tell-all interview with People magazine to mark the launch of her new show and business. She spoke about her marriage, life with her two young kids, and making friends in Montecito.

Meghan’s new lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, premiered 4 March on Netflix, with her business, As Ever, launching soon. The show sees Meghan cooking and hosting with various famous friends, all the while letting viewers into her home life.

Her surname is no longer Markle

In an episode of With Love, Meghan, Meghan reminds her friend Mindy Kaling that she now uses the surname “Sussex”. She told People that the surname is meaningful to her because she shares it with her husband, and kids Archie and Lili.

When Meghan married Prince Harry in 2018, they were given the dukedom of Sussex and have been known since as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. It’s tradition for royals to use titles as surnames, with Prince Harry and his brother William using the surname ‘Wales’ when before their marriages as their father was then the Prince of Wales.

Does Meghan Markle regret closing her website, ‘The Tig’?

The answer is a resounding “no”. The duchess says that while she enjoyed the time she spent running her lifestyle blog, The Tig, she doesn’t regret closing it down. She made the decision just before announcing her engagement in 2017.

“I loved The Tig, but I certainly love my husband more,” said Meghan. “So that was a choice I made at the time, and I wouldn’t change that for a second.”

Meghan Markle’s concentrating on her new business venture now. As Ever, a lifestyle and home decor brand, is set to launch in the next few months. It was previously known as American Riviera Orchard but Meghan changed the name after facing copyright issues.

What Meghan Markle kept from the ‘Suits’ set

Prior to joining the royal family, Meghan worked as an actress. She most notably starred as Rachel Zane on the legal drama “Suits”. And it seems that period meant a lot to her as she even kept a memento from the show – the pencil skirt her character wore in the first episode!

How Meghan and Harry spend time at home

As busy working parents, Meghan and Harry prioritise spending quality time together, and it often includes cooking and eating together. Meghan Markle revealed that Harry and Archie both love fried eggs for breakfast, with the kitchen getting crowded whenever she makes bacon.

When they’re both home, Harry and Meghan enjoy lunch together. In the evenings, they have “nightcap recaps”: a time for them to catch up on their days, while packing Archie and Lili’s lunchboxes for the next morning.

Meghan’s embracing mom life in Montecito

It’s not only celebrities that the duchess counts as friends. Meghan Markle’s made several friends whose children are at school with her kids. She describes these friends as both “stay-at-home moms and working women with normal jobs, not in the public eye.”

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One of these friends told “People” how the duchess and her children sent balloons and a stuffed animal when her son underwent surgery. The friend described Meghan, Harry, Archie and Lili as a “very connected” family.

Archie and Lili visited the ‘With Love, Meghan’ set

Meghan’s new show was not filmed in her Montecito mansion because she felt the 80-plus film crew would disrupt her family’s home life. However, her two young kids, Archie and Lili, both came to visit her on set, along with Prince Harry. One of the crew members described how Archie and Lili would run into her arms on set, describing Meghan as a “doting” mother.