Meghan Markle Says She Wasn't 'Treated Like a Black Woman' Until She Began Dating Prince Harry

Meghan Markle is getting candid about growing up as a bi-racial woman. During episode 2 of her Archetypes podcast titled, The Duality of a Diva With Mariah Carey, the duchess and the songstress broke down their upbringing as women with Black and white parents and navigating a world where it was hard to fit in.  

Markle, 41, who has a Black mother and a white father, revealed that the duality of her ethnicity was always acknowledged, until she began her relationship with Prince Harry. 

“If there’s any time in my life that it’s been more focused on my race, it’s only when I started dating my husband,” she tells Carey. “Then I started to understand what it was like to be treated like a Black woman. Because up until then, I had been treated like a mixed woman. And things really shifted." 

Markle, who began dating Harry in 2016, has been candid about the racism she experienced during their time as senior working members of the royal family and how that impacted their decision to step back from the role in 2020.  

Markle admitted that, like, Carey, she has lighter skin, so that always left a gray area.  

"And I think for us, it's very different because we're light-skinned," she says. "You're not treated as a Black woman. You're not treated as a white woman. You sort of fit in between. 

Carey, who has a white mother and a Black father, shared the same sentiments, adding it was always a challenge to fit in.  

“I always thought it should be OK to say I’m mixed. It should be OK to say that, but people want you to choose,” the “Vision of Love” singer says.  

Markle shared that it was important for her to have this conversation with Carey, as the singer was someone that she always admired growing up. 

“This is part of why when I was putting this conversation together, I had to talk to you,” the duchess says.  

“Of course, I had to talk to you. You were so formative, for me representation matters so much," she adds. "But when you are a woman of color, and you don’t see a woman who looks like you somewhere, in a position of power or a position of influence, or even just on the screen, because we know how influential media is. You came on the scene, and it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, someone kinda looks like me.’” 

Markle's Archetypes podcast -- which debuted at No. 1 last week following the first episode with Serena Williams -- is set to feature conversations with some of the former actress' friends including Mindy Kaling, Issa Rae and more. 

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