The Duchess of Sussex made appearances on the US gameshow

Before Meghan Markle became the Duchess of Sussex, she had a Hollywood career of her own, but prior to being Rachel from Suits, she was one of the briefcase girls from Deal or No Deal.

The gameshow is popular around the world, with many franchises across various countries. In the US version of the show, attractive women stood by the briefcases that hold a figure inside, and wait to open it on cue.

Meghan Markle has spoken out about her time on Deal or No Deal many times before, and received backlash over her take from the stint on the show, as well as making a sad confession over her daughter Lilibet. This is everything she’s said about her experience.

Meghan Markle was a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal before she met Prince Harry (Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images)

Meghan Markle was on Deal or No Deal for season two

In the original series for the US, it featured 26 models who each held a briefcase, and they held the same number all season. Some models were on the show for a number of seasons, while others only stayed for a year.

Meghan Markle was one of the Deal or No Deal models before landing a role on Suits, during the second season of the CBS show. She would stand by briefcase number 24 in 2006 and 2007 for 31 of her total 34 episodes.

The gig came three years after she graduated from college with a joint-honours degree in Theatre and International Studies.

It’s not known how much she was paid, but royal author Sean Smith claimed in his 2020 book Meghan Misunderstood that they were paid £606 ($800) per episode.

Other famous faces who appeared on the show include Chrissy Teigen, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia Jordan, and New Girl star Hayley Marie.

The host of the show, Howie Mandel, later said he ‘didn’t remember’ the royal on the show.

He told the Good Guys podcast: “To be honest, when she became the duchess or whatever – is she a duchess? When I heard that she was on ‘Deal or No Deal,’ I didn’t remember her. I have a picture of her in my office. She’s one of the girls standing behind me. But, I don’t remember a lot of them. You know, Chrissy Teigan was also a ‘Deal or No Deal’ model.”

The royal said she felt ‘objectified’ on screen (Credit: Cover Images)

Meghan Markle quit Deal or No Deal after feeling ‘objectified’

During an episode of her 2022 podcast Archetypes, the royal admitted why she chucked in the towel. Meghan Markle said she quit the reality-slash-gameshow Deal or No Deal after how she felt on stage.

Paris Hilton was a guest on the series, in an episode titled Breaking Down The Bimbo.

Meghan said: “While Deal or No, Deal wasn’t about acting, I still really grateful as an auditioning actress to have a job that could pay my bills. I had income, I was part of the Union, I had health insurance, it was great.”

The royal admitted: “I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.

“I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance. And that’s how it felt for me at the time being reduced to this specific archetype the word bimbo.

“It’s a word that is used to cut down a beautiful woman to kind of say well she’s beautiful, but maybe she’s slutty or maybe she’s silly or stupid.”

‘Pit in my stomach’

The mum-of-two went further, and said when she was on the show, she’d think about her internship from her college days. While studying at Northwestern University, she got a gig as an intern, thanks to a family connection, at the US Embassy in Argentina. The royal said she felt she was “being valued specifically for my brain”.

She added: “There was a very cookie-cutter idea of precisely what we should look like.

“It was solely about beauty, and not necessarily about brains.”

She went on: “I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me, but that wasn’t the focus of why we were there and I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach. Like I said, I was thankful for the job but not for how it made me feel which was not smart.”

Meghan claimed one Deal or No Deal producer couldn’t pronounce her surname Markle and would scream: “Mar-kell suck it in”.
Meghan Markle was on Deal or No Deal for 34 episodes during Season 2 (Credit: ZUMA Press/Cover Images)

‘You know what you’re signing up for’

However, a former Deal or No Deal model, Donna Feldman, slammed Meghan Markle’s claims. She told the New York Post: “You know what you’re signing up for when you’re hired as a ‘briefcase beauty’.

“I have gotten opportunities in my career based off the way I look, but it’s my brains, personality and work ethic that help seal the deal and get me the job, and get clients to continue to hire me on a regular basis.”

She added: “It’s up to a woman to decide what experience will empower her or use it as an excuse to seek attention.”

Chief content officer Lucas Green of Banijay, the production company behind the show, disagreed with the royal’s comments at the time as well.

He said the show was “constantly evolving” over the past decades, and they’re always working to modernise the format.

The Duchess of Sussex said she hopes her daughter ‘aspires higher’ (Credit: Cover Images)

Royal wants Princess Lilibet to ‘aspire higher’

Meghan Markle also revealed she wants her young daughter Lilibet to ‘aspire higher’ than Deal or No Deal.

The Duchess of Sussex told Spotify listeners she departed the ‘glamorous assistant’ role after 34 episodes as she was compelled to undergo spray tans and wear a padded bra.

Meghan also admitted she hopes her daughter – affectionately referred to as ‘Lili’ – will be regarded for her intelligence, rather than her appearance.

She added: “I want our daughters to aspire to be slightly higher. I want my Lili to want to be educated, and want to be smart and to pride herself on those things.”