If it feels like Meghan Markle has been speaking up publicly more and more lately, it’s because she is (her new podcast, Archetypes, launched last week, for example) — and now she’s hinting that she might be ready to return to the most direct way to speak to fans, followers and even foes: social media.
In a new interview with The Cut, the Duchess of Sussex revealed many things about her life right now (from details about how she and her husband, Prince Harry, are navigating strained relationships with family members to her feelings about the British media and tabloids). For those of us eager to hear more from Markle herself, however, The Cut interview also offered a tantalizing hint at the possibility of a return to social media.
“Do you want to know a secret?” she said in The Cut interview. “I’m getting back… on Instagram.”
While the interview went on to show that the decision is still somewhat up in the air — The Cut interview noted that “[l]ater, Meghan would relay she was no longer sure she would actually return to Instagram” — the openness to a social media presence is a big step for Markle, who deactivated her social media accounts amid her and Prince Harry’s stepping away from being working royals.
See also: This is where Prince Harry says he knew Meghan Markle was his ‘soulmate.’
Meghan Markle had 3 million Instagram followers — and ‘The Tig’
Of course, Markle is no stranger to social media. Prior to becoming the Duchess of Sussex, Markle had 3 million followers on Instagram and ran a lifestyle blog (RIP The Tig, which The Tig Archives keeps in our hearts). However, as they discussed with Oprah last year, being in the public eye and under the microscope of the media (particularly the British tabloid media) has been incredibly challenging for Markle and her husband.
When it came to social media while she was a working royal, Markle didn’t mesh with the structured nature of engaging with media, telling The Cut: “There’s literally a structure by which if you want to release photos of your child, as a member of the family, you first have to give them to the [UK media pool].”
“Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N-word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child?” Markle told The Cut. “You tell me how that makes sense and then I’ll play that game.”
Related: Lilibet is One: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry share candid photo of daughter Lili.
Similarly, as PEOPLE reports, Markle previously spoke about her decision to avoid social media at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit in 2020. “For my own self-preservation, I have not been on social media for a very long time,” she said at the time. “I made a personal choice to not have any account, so I don’t know what’s out there, and in many ways that’s helpful for me.”
Could Meghan Markle return to social media?
So, now that Markle and her husband are no longer working royals, what might be motivating her potential return to our day-to-day lives via social media?
While social media is a key tool in promoting projects like Archetypes, it still, inherently, also comes with many downsides for someone like Markle. Social media can be challenging for anyone to navigate, but — with the added scrutiny that comes with being famous — it can be especially stressful for celebrities, leading more and more celebs like Tom Holland and Selena Gomez to take breaks from or even quit social media.
However, social media does give its users something that Markle may want as she moves into the next phase of her life and career: a platform and a voice. Should she want to return to social media, we’re ready to follow.
