‘I was an ugly duckling’: Meghan Markle says she was a little girl with ‘frizzy, curly hair and a huge gap in my teeth’ who ‘sat alone at lunch’ and joined school clubs to fill her time in podcast interview with Mindy Kaling
- Spotify today released the Duchess of Sussex’s third podcast in her ‘Archetypes’ series, in which she speaks with The Office actress Mindy Kaling
- The pair discussed the importance of complimenting children, with Markle, 41, revealing that she considered herself an ‘ugly duckling’ in childhood
- A shocked Kaling struggled to believe the Duchess, but she told her she found it hard to fit in at school and joined clubs so she would have ‘meetings at lunch’
- Meghan and Harry are set to appear in Germany for an Invictus Games event later on today, fresh from Meghan’s in-person address in Manchester
Meghan Markle has revealed she considered herself an ‘ugly duckling’ during her childhood, telling The Office actress Mindy Kaling in the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast, that she struggled with the way she looked as a youngster.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, made the comments in the third podcast released on Spotify, telling Kaling that she was ‘not the pretty one’ when growing up and would often join clubs so she would have meetings at lunch and wouldn’t have to sit alone.
The 50-minute podcast was released as the couple jetted to Germany for an Invictus Games event, and also saw the two women discuss how men for a long time assumed they were funnier than their female counterparts, and the stigma of being a single woman.
Scroll down for video
Spotify today released the Duchess of Sussex’s third podcast in her ‘Archetypes’ series, in which she speaks with The Office actress Mindy Kaling; in the broadcast, Markle says she considered herself an ‘ugly duckling’ as a child
She told latest Archetypes podcast interviewee Kaling that she had ‘massive frizzy, curly hair and a huge gap in my teeth’ growing up (Markle pictured in childhood)
In the candid exchange, Kaling talks about how she tries to instill confidence in her own daughter, Katherine, four, by telling her she’s beautiful – but adds that she doesn’t think that’s always the right message.
Kaling says: ‘I grew up always feeling ugly, overweight, ‘othered’, and so, with my daughter, I’m always telling her that she’s beautiful to the point where my friend BJ is like “You can tell her other compliments!”.
The actress added that while the compliment ‘smart’ came her way, and gave her confidence in her studies, she wasn’t told she was beautiful.
The Duchess then shared her own experiences, saying she empathized with not being the ‘pretty one’ at school, much to the surprise of her interviewee.
‘Were you not the pretty one growing up?’ a shocked Kaling asks.
‘No, oh God, no!’ responds Markle, adding: ‘Ugly duckling’.
The Duchess of Sussex speaks at the One Young World 2022 summit in Manchester last night; it was her first public speech since the couple left royal life in 2020
Meghan Markle (left, in a photo issued with her Spotify podcast) spoke to Mindy Kaling (right, in Los Angeles on August 11)
She clarified that her looks might have been considered unconventionally beautiful, saying she had ‘massive frizzy, curly hair and a huge gap in my teeth. I was the smart, one forever and ever and ever and ever – and then I sort of grew up.’
Kaling replies she expected that Markle had been ‘the hot girl who, like, has her head screwed on right’ at school, ‘because her mom’s probably, like, really cool.’
Prince Harry’s wife explained that while at school at the Hollywood Schoolhouse and, later, all-girls Catholic school, Immaculate Heart, in Los Angeles she struggled to fit in with her peers.
The podcast sees the 41-year-old (pictured in Manchester with Prince Harry) discuss how she struggled to fit in with her peers at Immaculate Heart, an all-girls Catholic school in Los Angeles
She explains: ‘I never had anyone to sit with at lunch. I was always a little bit of a loner and really shy and didn’t know where I fit in.
‘And so I just became, well, I was like, okay then, I’ll become the president of the multi-cultural club and the president of sophomore class and the president of this… and French club. And by doing that, I had meetings at lunchtime, so I didn’t have to worry about who I would sit with or what I would do because I was always so busy.’
The new podcast was expected to come out on the streaming service at 12.30pm today – like last week’s episode with Mariah Carey – but ended up being released two hours early at 10.30am as the couple head to Germany.
The description on Spotify says: ‘Meghan speaks candidly with Mindy Kaling who opens up in an unprecedented conversation about the joys, challenges, and stigmas of her life as a single, unmarried woman – plus her decision to start a family on her own.
‘This episode also features New York Magazine writer Rebecca Traister, who unpacks the many archetypes that have followed single women for generations.’
It comes as the couple are set to appear in Germany for an Invictus Games event later on today, fresh from Meghan’s first in-person address in Britain since quitting as a working royal.
Source: Read Full Article