After spending more than a month away from the cameras, Meghan Markle surprised royal fans on Sunday by appearing in a special CNN Heroes TV special. Sitting outside amid a backdrop of lilac flowers, Markle delivered a poignant speech that subtly tied back to the op ed she penned for the New York Times earlier this year, revealing the deep pain and loss she personally experienced amid the pandemic. And, in the process, she further cemented our mantra for the rest of 2020.
Meghan Markle’s CNN Appearance Included a Secret Reference to Her Heartbreaking ‘New York Times’ Op Ed
Published Dec 16, 2020
•7:00pm
While thanking the "quiet heroes" during a "year that has been universally challenging for everyone" during her 2-minute-long introduction, the Duchess of Sussex describes the powerful sense of community and the goodwill and generosity of strangers who stepped up to help out during the pandemic.
"They nourished their neighbors in more ways than one. And they showed us, all of us, that even in the darkest times, when we come together, we have the power to remind someone else that there is hope and that we will be OK," Markle concluded.
"We will be OK." Sound familiar?
Back on November 25, Markle's New York Times op ed, titled 'The Losses We Share,' revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage in July 2020, and detailed the "unbearable grief" of her and Prince Harry's loss.
"Sitting in a hospital bed, watching my husband’s heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine, I realized that the only way to begin to heal is to first ask, 'Are you OK?,'" she wrote.
This question, a throughline for her and Prince Harry's rollercoaster year that sprung from an ITV interview with journalist Tom Bradby, was repeated throughout her essay as a call to action for readers: "So this Thanksgiving, as we plan for a holiday unlike any before—many of us separated from our loved ones, alone, sick, scared, divided and perhaps struggling to find something, anything, to be grateful for—let us commit to asking others, 'Are you OK?'"
She ended the op ed by answering her own question: "Are we OK? We will be."
The phrase was also discussed during her and Prince Harry's guest appearance on the mental health–focused podcast Teenager Therapy back in October.
"It was just, here’s where I am: I’m a mom with a four-and-a-half month-old baby and we are tired," Markle told the hosts. "But I think the reason it resonated with people is because everyone wants to be asked if they’re OK.”
So, during her CNN Heroes event, she took a moment to remind people that we all have that power: the ability to check in on each other, imbue hope and, in doing so, collectively build the resilience and support we need to "be OK."
This is undoubtedly the mantra we needed this year.
