Meghan Markle is looking back on the “life or death” health scare she experienced after giving birth.
The “Confessions of a Female Founder” podcast host revealed that she and her first guest, Bumble creator Whitney Wolfe Herd, “both had postpartum preeclampsia,” she revealed on Tuesday’s premiere episode.
11 Meghan Markle opened up about a “huge medical scare” during her podcast premiere. Netflix
“It’s so rare and so scary,” the Duchess of Sussex, 43, said of the condition, which is characterized by high blood pressure and excess protein in urine after giving birth (via Mayo Clinic).
11 The Duchess of Sussex told “Confessions of a Female Founder” about having postpartum preeclampsia. meghan/Instagram
11 “It’s so rare and so scary,” she said. SplashNews.com
“You’re still trying to juggle all of these things, and the world doesn’t know what’s happening quietly,” she recalled. “And in the quiet, you’re still trying to show up for people – mostly for your children — but those things are huge medical scares.”
Markle didn’t specify if she suffered from postpartum preeclampsia following the arrival of son Archie, 5, or daughter Lilibet, 3, in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
Following her confession, the former actress shared what it’s like to be a working mom while having her and Prince Harry’s two little ones at home.
11 Podcast guest Whitney Wolfe Herd added that the condition is “life or death.” Getty Images
11 Markle noted how difficult it was to “show up for people” during her health battle. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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“[I became a parent] in the pandemic, post-pandemic culture where there is so much working from home,” Markle recalled. “I don’t leave the house to go to an office. My office is here.
“Lili … only has a half day in preschool. If she wakes up [from her nap] and wants to find me, she knows where to find me, even if my door is closed to the office,” the “Deal or No Deal” alum continued. “She’ll be sitting there on my lap during one of these meetings with a grid of all the executives.”
However, Markle wouldn’t want her career to look “any other way.”
11 The As Ever founder also described her work-life balance as a mom of two. Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds
11 She and husband Prince Harry son son Archie and daughter Lilibet. Alexi Lubomirski / Duke and Duchess of Sussex
“I don’t want to miss those moments,” she gushed. “I don’t want to miss pickup if I don’t have to. I don’t want to miss drop-off.”
Markle further explained that Archie and Lilibet bring “perspective” to her as she builds her lifestyle brand, As Ever, highlighting her daughter’s potty training amid her own business milestones.
“Both are just as important,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Great, OK, where are the Cheerios? Well done.’ And then you’re championing your team 10 minutes later about something that is really high value for the world.”
11 “My office is here,” Markle said of her Montecito, Calif., home. meghan/Instagram
11 Her youngest child has joined Markle for meetings with executives post-nap. Meghan/Instagram
Nonetheless, the potty training is still “super high value” for her and her toddler.
In March, Markle announced she was launching a new podcast through Lemonada Media after her failed $20 million Spotify run with “Archetypes.”
She teased the project in a trailer promising “girl talk” last month.
11 Markle “wouldn’t have it any other way.” meghan/Instagram
11 She gushed about the “perspective” her little ones bring to building a business. Netflix
The first episode comes on the heels of Markle dropping her first round of As Ever products, many of which appeared on her “With Love, Meghan” Netflix series in March.
Markle defended being so booked and busy post-royal life in a recent New York Times interview.
“I need to work, and I love to work,” she told the outlet earlier this month.
Meghan Markle reveals ‘huge medical scare’ in podcast premiere: ‘It’s so rare’
