Meghan Markle Opens Up About ‘Scary’ And ‘Rare’ Postpartum Complication For The First Time

Meghan Markle is opening up for the first time about facing a life-threatening postpartum condition after the birth of one of her children.

The Duchess of Sussex, who shares two children with Prince Harry, spoke about having postpartum preeclampsia during the first episode of her new podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder With Meghan.”

Meghan sat down with Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, who she says also had the postpartum condition.

“We both had very similar experiences, though we didn’t know each other at the time,” the duchess said in the episode, released Tuesday. “We both had preeclampsia ― postpartum preeclampsia.”

Postpartum preeclampsia is a rare but serious condition that occurs after childbirth, typically within 48 hours to six weeks, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“It’s so rare,” Meghan said. “And so scary! And you’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly. And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people.”

While Meghan added that you’re trying to show up “mostly for your children,” it’s tough as conditions like this are “huge medical scares.”

Wolfe Herd added that the condition is “life or death, truly.”

The Bumble CEO then opened up about another incredible hurdle the royal experienced after the birth of her first child, Prince Archie.

Wolfe Herd recalled seeing the Duchess of Sussex standing in front of the world with her newborn, just two days after his birth.

“I mean, I’ll never forget the image of you after you delivered Archie and the whole world was, like, waiting for his debut,” Wolfe Herd said. “I was either just becoming or about to become a new mom, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, how is this woman doing this? Like, how is this woman putting on heels and going and debuting a child in this, you know, beautiful outfit in front of the entire world?’”

“I could barely face a doorbell delivery for takeout food, you know, in a robe,” the CEO joked. “Like, please don’t look at me! Leave it down the street!”

“Postpartum is wild,” Wolfe Herd said. “It’s almost like one foot in one world, and one foot in another world. It’s a very confusing place to live in.”

Listen to the rest of their conversation on Meghan’s new Lemonada Media production here: