Meghan Markle made her long-awaited return to social media on Wednesday — and this time, she’s taking the necessary precautions to protect her mental health.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared two new posts on her shiny new Instagram page this week: one on New Year’s Day where she was seen frolicking joyfully on the beach, and a second on Thursday where she promoted her new Netflix cooking show.
While the wife of Prince Harry finally took steps to connect with her online fanbase after a years-long social media hiatus, she notably turned off the comments section of her posts — making trolling virtually impossible.
Page Six is exclusively told that the American Riviera Orchard founder is excited to connect directly with an online audience and share her own experiences unfiltered despite disabling the comments.
A source shared that Markle has “engaged in constructive conversations with senior executives at Meta about creating safer and healthier online environments.”
“While there is still work to be done, she feels confident that by returning to Instagram, she can amplify the progress made so far and lead by example in demonstrating the potential for social media to bring joy and positive connection,” the source further explained.
Her returning online presence differs from her days running her now-defunct The Tig lifestyle blog, in which she encouraged her readers to engage in discussion before deleting the website in 2017.
Markle has spoken openly about her many encounters with cyberbullies since she began dating the red-headed royal in 2016. The nasty criticism of the former actress doubled when she married into the royal family two years later.
Just last March, the mom of two recalled being bullied when she was pregnant with her and Harry’s two kids: Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.
“The bulk of the bullying and the abuse that I was experiencing in social media and online was when I was pregnant — with Archie and with Lili — and with a newborn with each of them,” she said at a SXSW panel in March 2024.
She added that the hateful words were “not catty” but “cruel.”
The “Suits” alum reportedly even told a group of teens last October that she was “one of the most bullied people in the world.” However, sources later told The Post that Markle “talked about her experience with online bullying but never claimed she was the most bullied person in the world.”
In 2021, Markle revealed during a bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey that she even contemplated taking her own life partly due to the excruciating bullying that she had endured.
Inspired by her personal experiences with cyberbullying and her concern for the next generation, Harry and Markle have taken steps to grow a safer online atmosphere.
Our source told Page Six that Markle and the 40-year-old roya are working to create a “more compassionate” digital world” through their Archewell Foundation.
“By stepping back into this space, The Duchess hopes to authentically share moments of joy and inspiration from her life while continuing to advocate for safer, more positive online experiences—particularly for young people and families,” the source added.
For example, the Duke and Duchess held a panel discussion on “community and creating positive change for a safer online world for young people” for their first Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit in October 2023.
Markle first teased her social media return in August 2023 when she secured the @meghan Instagram handle. However, she didn’t post anything on the account until this week.
“Meghan was set to go live on Insta, but changed her mind shortly before she launched her “Archetypes” podcast, so it’s just sitting there now,” a source exclusively told Page Six in August.
Markle parted ways with Spotify in 2023 — just three years after signing a $20 million podcast deal.
Sources previously told Page Six that the series went bust because Markle failed to deliver enough content to warrant their pricey agreement.
Markle has since managed to grow other ventures, including a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media and her forthcoming cooking series on Netflix that compliments her Goop-esque lifestyle brand.
“The Duchess is excited to return to social media as a way to reconnect with communities around the world and share updates on the impactful projects she has been working on,” the source told us.
“She is committed to promoting a joyful and thoughtful approach to online engagement—one that fosters meaningful connections and inspires positivity in today’s digital space.”
Read the full article here
