The rumor mill has long been speculating about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle splitting up. Is there any truth to it? Not really. Here's a long list of reasons why it'll probably never happen.
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00:00The rumor mill has long been speculating about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle splitting up.
00:05Is there any truth to it? Not really. Here's a long list of reasons why it'll probably
00:09never happen.
00:11Sometimes, the most complicated questions have the simplest answer. And the simplest
00:15explanation for why Harry and Meghan aren't getting divorced may be that they are in love.
00:21Crazy, right? But even as the European tabloid press claimed that the pair was on the brink
00:25of separation, Harry and Meghan continued to demonstrate affection in public.
00:29At the September 2023 Invictus Games, the pair were photographed holding hands. They
00:34also looked affectionate in the stands, with Meghan gazing adoringly at Harry. Ultimately,
00:39these small signs of unity back up a slew of anonymous insiders who have long gone to
00:43the press in defense of Harry and Meghan's marriage.
00:46As one source close to the couple told Us Weekly,
00:48"...they are a united front. As far as they're concerned, it's Harry and Meghan against the
00:53world."
00:54Speaking to People, a family friend shared,
00:56"...they seem really happy together. Harry seems to be embracing this life he has with
00:59Meghan and knows it's a very different one than he had before, of course."
01:02"...I mean, I came here because I was changed. I'd changed to the point of I'd outgrown my
01:07environment."
01:08Rumors have been swirling for years now that Harry and Meghan's marriage is on the rocks.
01:13Yet even as this negative gossip has taken over the European tabloid press, the couple
01:17has shown signs of sticking things out.
01:19So, if there really are problems behind the scenes, what reason beyond true love might
01:24compel them to stay together? One of the theories involves those very same stories in the press.
01:29In the past, Harry has gone on the record, claiming that these articles are published
01:33with the specific intention of ruining his love life, and it is possible that he does
01:38not want to let the press succeed. In a written statement that Harry submitted to the British
01:42court system during a lawsuit against the Mirror Group newspapers, the prince described
01:46his belief that the media has intentionally tried to sabotage his romantic relationships.
01:51Harry explained,
01:52"...I always felt as if the tabloids wanted me to be single, as I was much more interesting
01:56to them and sold more newspapers. Whenever I got into a relationship, they were very
02:00keen to report all the details but would then, very quickly, seek to try and break it up
02:05by putting as much strain on it and creating as much distrust as humanly possible."
02:09"...Every relationship that I had, within a matter of weeks or months, was splattered
02:14all over the newspapers and that person's family harassed."
02:18In that sense, it is possible that Harry and Meghan have remained together so as not to
02:22let the tabloids win.
02:23Over the years, the couple has been outspoken about the challenges of dealing with those
02:28rabid tabloids. In their Netflix documentary series, Harry and Meghan, the duo opened up
02:32about the impact of this harassment on their daily lives. At one point, Meghan recalled,
02:37"...it felt like all of the UK media descended upon Toronto. Then my neighbours texted me
02:41saying, they're knocking on everyone's door, they're trying to find you. They had paid
02:45certain neighbours to put a livestream camera into my backyard."
02:48All in all, this invasion of privacy left Meghan feeling terrified. The Duchess shared,
02:53"...all the curtains were pulled, all the blinds were pulled, like, it was scary."
02:57Unfortunately, if Harry and Meghan were ever to part ways, they could expect to face media
03:02stalking like never before.
03:04Historically speaking, divorced royals have faced massive amounts of press interest, and
03:08the Sussexes know it. In Harry and Meghan, Harry reflected on the way that his parents'
03:12divorce seemed to egg on the paparazzi. Harry revealed,
03:15"...my mum was harassed throughout her life with my dad, but after they separated, the
03:20harassment went to new levels."
03:21With this history in mind, it is likely that the Sussexes want to avoid a divorce and all
03:26the press attention that goes along with it.
03:28Whatever tensions may or may not arise in their relationship, one thing seems clear
03:33— both Harry and Meghan are committed to their children, Archie and Lilibet, and that
03:37extends to protecting them from the stresses of marital strife.
03:41Harry opened up about this dynamic in a public conversation with Canadian author Dr. Garber
03:45Marte, explaining that he and Meghan do everything in their power to keep their disagreements
03:50separate from Archie and Lilibet. He explained,
03:52"...do not have those disagreements, arguments, whatever it is, in front of your children.
03:56Luckily, my wife and I don't have those."
03:59Harry went on to say that this parenting philosophy stems from the trauma that he himself
04:03once experienced while his parents were arguing.
04:05"...the idea of having those in front of the kids? I assume that my parents probably had
04:09a lot of those rows in front of me. Maybe that's where it comes from. That's not a good
04:12idea."
04:13Harry and Meghan have also been said to dislike the logistical element of divorce, especially
04:18when it comes to raising Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in two separate homes. This
04:22stance could very well be a product of the Sussexes' childhood memories. Both Harry and
04:26Meghan are children of divorce, and both struggled immensely. As royal expert Lara Asprey said
04:32in an interview with OK!, they've both had this traumatic experience, which they don't
04:36want to repeat for their own children's sake.
04:38"...I do think for now they'll fight tooth and nail to stay together. They want their
04:41kids to have stability and not come from a broken home themselves."
04:45Harry expressed a similar sentiment in the Netflix documentary series Harry and Meghan,
04:49saying,
04:50"...I think most kids who are the product of divorce parents have a lot in common. No
04:53matter what your background is, being pulled from one place to another, or maybe your parents
04:57are competitive, or you're in one place longer than you want to be, or another place less
05:01than you want to be. Because of these negative past experiences, it is likely that Harry
05:05and Meghan will do everything possible to stay together for the sake of their kids."
05:10While it is, ultimately, impossible to know what has been going on in their marriage,
05:13the truth is that many of the rumors about their so-called breakup have been based on
05:17their work trips. Royal commentator Lara Asprey told OK!, there are signs that their paths
05:22are splitting. Harry's got projects in Botswana, and Meghan's eyeing up her own career, pulling
05:27them in different directions.
05:28"...Going solo for a few days, Prince Harry is in Botswana, highlighting a few of his
05:33favorite projects."
05:35At the end of the day, though, work trips are just work trips. For instance, it's believed
05:39that the Duke of Sussex is planning a new Netflix documentary that will be filmed somewhere
05:43in Africa. One of his friends told Page Six,
05:46"...Obviously, Harry has a lot of roots in Africa and he feels at home there."
05:50But spending time in Africa for work doesn't necessarily mean he's trying to get away from
05:53Meghan. It might just mean he's a very busy guy.
05:57Another reason that Harry and Meghan might want to avoid a divorce is for the sake of
06:00their own emotional well-being. This may be especially true for Harry, who has famously
06:05struggled with loss over the years. According to at least one relationship expert, it would
06:09be difficult for the red-headed prince to part ways with his wife, as he probably does
06:13not want to lose yet another woman that he loves.
06:15In an interview with The Mirror, Kate Mansfield analyzed this aspect of Harry's relationship
06:20patterns. According to her professional opinion, the prince continues to feel the impact of
06:24his mother, Princess Diana's, tragic death. Mansfield explained,
06:28"...For Harry, having lost his mother at a young age, there is likely to be a significant
06:32abandonment wound that might keep him in even an unhappy marriage. The loss of a parent
06:36causes most people to develop an attachment anxiety that, unless treated, can create the
06:41tendency to stay in relationships, regardless of how they actually feel."
06:45Of course, it is important to clarify that Mansfield did not think that Harry seemed
06:48particularly unhappy in his marriage. On the contrary, she described his relationship with
06:53Meghan as both functional and healthy, stating,
06:55"...I don't see divorce on the cards."
06:58Many couples choose to stay married because they are happy with the life they have built
07:01together, and from what we can tell, it's very possible that this is true for Harry
07:05and Meghan. Over the years, the pair has hinted at how much they love their life in Montecito,
07:10California. As they revealed in the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, the pair revels
07:15in the simple things, like playing with their children in their garden or spending the day
07:18at the beach.
07:19Harry's family friend, Serena Williams, even told filmmakers,
07:22"...They're creating their own family. They can start something fresh and new and hope
07:26that, one day, family on both ends will be able to understand that this is truly love."
07:30Fascinatingly, Harry seems particularly taken with his new life, and he credits Meghan for
07:35showing him all that the world beyond palace walls has to offer. The prince opened up about
07:39this dynamic in his conversation with Dr. Garber Marte, saying,
07:42"...People have said that my wife saved me. I was stuck in this world and she was from
07:46a different world and helped draw me out of that. None of the elements of my life would
07:50have been possible without me seeing life away from the royal family for myself."
07:55Harry and Meghan aren't just linked by romance. The pair are also believed to share a number
07:59of financial obligations, which would make a divorce all the more challenging. In 2020,
08:04the Sussexes signed a $100 million contract with Netflix. Apparently, this agreement requires
08:09the duo to collaborate with the streaming giant for five years. In practice, this means
08:14participating in the production of content ranging from documentary series like Harry
08:18and Meghan and Live to Lead to less common formats such as children's programming.
08:23"...This is them kind of planting their flag in terms of what they're going to do now."
08:28On top of Harry and Meghan's agreement with Netflix, the husband-wife team have made millions
08:33of dollars together on their investments. Chief among these is the couple's Montecito
08:37home, which they purchased for $14.7 million. According to The Sun, the Sussexes stand to
08:42make an astounding amount of money on the property, as its value has since skyrocketed
08:47to close to $30 million. And while it is believed that the couple purchased the house using
08:51the fortune that Princess Diana left to Harry, Meghan is said to have played a vital role
08:56in choosing which part of California to invest in.
08:58As a result of these complex financial dynamics, it would be extraordinarily challenging to
09:03determine who was owed what in a divorce. Considering the strength of these financial
09:08ties, it would not necessarily be advisable for Harry and Meghan to part ways.
09:12Although Prince Harry has recently turned his back on royal life, the red-headed rebel
09:16comes from a more traditional background. This is especially evident in that he continues
09:21to appear at royal events, such as his father's coronation. What's more, the prince has also
09:25made waves by insisting that his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, both get
09:30titles. In that sense, it is possible that protocol is still important to Harry, and
09:35maybe that also means respecting the royal tradition of avoiding divorce.
09:39Speaking on this matter to The Mirror, relationship expert Kate Mansfield opined that Harry will
09:43likely try to avoid divorce at all costs. She explained,
09:47"...it's very unlikely that Harry would ever divorce Meghan. Divorce in royal circles very
09:51much frowned upon, although it happens, of course. Indeed, it is understood that Harry's
09:56late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, took the divorces of her three children quite poorly."
10:01Royal commentator Robert Hardman wrote in his book Queen of Our Times, The Life of Queen
10:05Elizabeth II, that she was heartbroken by the scandal of these splits. Since Harry grew
10:09up in this anti-divorce environment and was very close to his grandmother, it is possible
10:14that he absorbed some of her feelings about divorce.