Duchess Meghan’s new podcast may be about entrepreneurship and the ups and downs that come with being a female founder, but she is also dropping in snippets about her own life.
In episode one of Confessions of a Female Founder, via Lemonada Media, Meghan discussed work-life balance with friend and Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd.
During the talk, Meghan revealed that both she and Wolfe Herd experienced postpartum preeclampsia after welcoming their children. It is “a rare condition that occurs when you have high blood pressure and excess protein in your urine soon after childbirth,” per the Mayo Clinic.
“We both had very similar experiences—though we didn’t know each other at the time—with postpartum, and we both had preeclampsia. Postpartum preeclampsia,” Meghan said.
The Duchess of Sussex is mom to son Prince Archie, 5, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 3, with husband Prince Harry. She did not say after which pregnancy she developed the complications.
“It’s so rare and so scary,” Meghan continued. “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—mostly for your children—but those things are huge medical scares.”
Wolfe Herd agreed. “I mean life or death, truly,” she said.
Wolfe Herd also recalled the moment Meghan and Harry introduced a newborn Archie to the world during a public photocall two days after his birth in May 2019. Meghan stepped out in a white coatdress, next to Harry, who wore a gray suit and carried their bundled-up baby son. It’s a royal tradition that was also followed by royal mothers including Princess Diana and Princess Kate.
“I mean, I’ll never forget the image of you after you delivered Archie, and the whole world was 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? 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 in a robe,” she added as Meghan laughed.
