Meghan Markle was 'so tired' and 'under a lot of stress' during pregnancies with Archie and Lilibet

The Duchess of Sussex shared her experience of being pregnant in a conversation with Serena Williams for her new Spotify podcast, Archetypes

Meghan Markle's pregnancies left her 'under a lot of stress'
(Image credit: Getty)

Meghan Markle has revealed that she was 'so tired' during her pregnancies, joking with Archetypes co-host Serena Williams that she just "waddled around" for her gestational seasons. 


Meghan Markle has opened up about how she felt during her pregnancies, admitting that the experiences left her "so tired". 

Speaking on her new podcast, Archetypes, the Duchess of Sussex reflected on the downsides of the gestational period with her close friend, Serena Williams. The subject of babies arouse during a conversation on motherhood – one of the many topical issues discussed in the first episode of the feminist Spotify series, entitled, The Misconceptions of Ambition.

"I love being a woman and I loved being pregnant. I was one of those,” Williams said. The 40-year-old athlete gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr, in September 2017, after an emergency C-section. 

"You made pregnancy look so sexy," Meghan replied. "I just waddled around. I was just tired, I was so tired. Oh my god.” 

"I was the annoying one," Williams admitted, before adding, "You were the one under a lot of stress." 

Serena Williams Meghan Markle

Serena Williams and Meghan Markle

(Image credit: Getty)

The duchess shares two children with her husband Prince Harry, three-year-old Archie and one-year-old Lilibet. Meghan also suffered a miscarriage between these two births, an experience she shared in the New York Times in November 2020. 

Earlier in the episode with Serena, Meghan Markle revealed how dating Prince Harry changed her perspective on the 'dirty word' that is 'ambition.' 

"I don't remember ever personally feeling the negative connotation behind the word 'ambitious' until I started dating my now husband," she told Serena. "Apparently ambition is a terrible, terrible thing, for a woman that is – according to some. So, since I've felt the negativity behind it, it's really hard to un-feel it. I can't unsee it, either, in the millions of girls and women who make themselves smaller, so much smaller, on a regular basis."



Emma Dooney
Lifestyle News Writer

Hailing from the lovely city of Dublin, Emma mainly covers the Royal Family and the entertainment world, as well as the occasional health and wellness feature. Always up for a good conversation, she has a passion for interviewing everyone from A-list celebrities to the local GP - or just about anyone who will chat to her, really.

Emma holds an MA in International Journalism from City, University of London, and a BA in English Literature from Trinity College Dublin.