Blog

Olivia Bowen and her husband Alex appeared on ITV show Loose Women on Tuesday with a lovely update after sadly announcing they’d lost one of the twins they were expecting

Pregnant Love Island star Olivia Bowen broke down in tears on ITV’s Loose Women on Tueday as she spoke about her baby heartache before announcing she’s expecting a little girl. The news comes just days after Olivia had reaveled that she and her co-star husband Alex had lost one of their twins due later this year.

The couple met on the hit TV dating series series in 2016 and went on to marry and they now have a two-year-old son called Abel. Last month they excitedly posted a sweet video sharing the news that they were expecting twins. But just days ago Olivia made the heartbreaking revelation that she had lost one of the babies

She said while having “one safe, healthy baby” filled her with “happiness and joy”, she felt “excruciating pain and trauma” over the loss of the twin.

Appearing on Loose Women alongside her husband, Olivia was comforted by host Christine Lampard after breaking down in tears as she spoke about the loss but the couple went on to share a video of themselves and Abel announcing that the other baby is a little girl.

Olivia Bowen breaks down on ITV’s Loose Women speaking about the baby she lost ( 
Image:
ITV)

Christine introduced the clip before applause rang out around the studio to congratulate the couple. Before they made news of the gender public they spoke about the early discovery that they were expecting twins when they went for a scan at just six weeks.

“I’m quite an anxious person anyway so I was like I’m going for a scan and you were all for it,” said Olivia, who has twins in her family. “I went into the room and as soon as I sat down I could see two babies and not just one and we were floored by that.”

She continued: “As soon as we found out it was twins I was already quite nervous because we’ve not had a great history of twins in our family but you were so positive weren’t you?” she said looking at Alex, who then spoke about how excited he had been at the prospect of being a dad to twins.

Olivia and Alex are expecting a baby girl ( 
Image:
ITV)
For two weeks the couple made plans for becoming a family of five as they looked at baby car seats and bedroom plans.

“We went back at eight weeks and something happened called vanishing syndrome,” said Olivia as she broke down in tears adding that one of the babies didn’t have a heartbeat.

“I’d had no symptoms, I’d had no pain, no bleeding, absolutely nothing to tell me that that was what we were walking into and I guess from that moment we were completely floored. We were expecting to have these two little babies. Vanishing twin syndrome – it can as it just says literally vanish. The one beautiful part of it that I try to hold on to is that they do absorb into your body, those cells become a part of you and that’s what I’ve sort of been holding on to.”

Olivia and Alex with son Abel ( 
Image:
ITV)Olivia went on to say the scan was a “bittersweet rollercoaster of emotions” as they were also told the other baby was healthy and she said they’re “so excited” to meet their baby girl.

The pair are keen to raise the profile of miscarriage in the hope that others in a similar situation won’t be afraid to speak about their loss and grieve alone.

“It’s becoming easier by speaking about it with other women and that’s what we wanted to do and especially Alex being a dad as I haven’t seen many men talking about it – we just want to change that perception of not being able to talk about miscarriage openly.”

Loose Women is on ITV1 weekdays at 12.30pm and ITVX

Loose Women star Denise Welch’s latest comment comes just days after she paid a sweet tribute to her son Matty Healy’s wife-to-be, model Gabbriette Bechtel

Denise Welch has made a rare comment about her future daughter-in-law Gabbriette Bechtel, following claims the model has already married her son Matty Healy.

The 1975 frontman, 35, who is Denise’s eldest son, and the 27-year-old got engaged back in May 2024.

Since then, rumours have swirled that the pair have already married in secret, though neither parties have confirmed this.

Now, Loose Women star Denise has appeared to confirm that the pair are still yet to tie the knot.

During the first episode of the show’s brand new podcast, the 66-year-old referred to Gabbriette as her “son’s fiancée” and not her daughter-in-law, as of yet.

In response to her co-star Ayda Field Williams, who had been discussing her husband Robbie Williams’ addiction woes, Denise said: “Oh, my son’s fiancée is going through a metal detecting stage.

“She’s not an addict, but she’s going through a metal detecting stage. Matt bought her one for Christmas.”

Denise has only shared brief details about her son’s relationship since confirming their engagement live on the show last year.

Denise Welch said Gabbriette Bechtel is ‘everything she wants’ in a daughter-in-law

Denise Welch with her sons and Gabbriette
Speaking on Loose Women at the time, she said: “We couldn’t be happier. She is everything I would want in a daughter in law.”

The panellist went on to say she had known privately about their engagement for a “a few weeks” before the couple announced their news on Instagram.

Discussing how they celebrated, she told her co-stars: “We went over to LA to see Matty and Gabby and celebrate the engagement.

“Gabby is so busy modelling and she’s very hot right now, which is fabulous, so she couldn’t join us.

“So we went up to see her mum and dad, who we had met once before, Chayo and Gary, we absolutely adore them!”

Last week, Denise proved just how much she was a fan of Gabriette in a sweet tribute on Instagram.

As part of Milan Fashion Week, the model left very little to the imagination with her braless look, which consisted of a mesh long-sleeved top, a knee-length skirt and leather boots.

Sharing a snap of the model walking the catwalk, she gushed on Instagram: “My fabulous daughter-in-law to be @gabbriette walked for Fendi in Milan tonight,” alongside clapping hands and heart emojis.

Loose Women star Linda Robson has opened up about her friend Pauline Quirke’s dementia diagnosis, and remembered the moment she realised something was wrong

Linda Robson has opened up about the moment she noticed something “wasn’t right” with her close friend and ‘Birds of a Feather’ co-star Pauline Quirke. Pauline, 65, was diagnosed with dementia in 2021, but the illness only became public knowledge when her husband Steve Sheen made an announcement in January this year.

Linda, 66, expressed concern when Pauline stopped returning her calls, saying: “I hadn’t spoken to her for a little while and I kept wondering why she hadn’t returned my calls. Eventually, Steve phoned me back. Lesley [Joseph] and I went for lunch with her and that’s when we realised something wasn’t right with her, and that was three years ago.”

The news hit Linda hard, yet she respected the family’s privacy and kept the diagnosis confidential, vowing to secrecy. “I’ve known for the last three years that she wasn’t well,” the Loose Women panellist added to Bella Magazine.

“I managed to keep it a secret. It was very important that I did, because it was up to her family when it was time for them to let everyone know. Steve was taking her away a lot, just to get her out of the country.”

Linda Robson gets emotional after discussing Pauline Quirke

In the wake of the public statement in January, Steve informed fans about Pauline’s withdrawal from her professional engagements and commercial responsibilities because of her dementia. However, he assured that Pauline’s UK-wide performing arts academy would continue to thrive, remaining true to her ideals and vision, reports Bristol Live.

Pauline Quirke’s husband went public with her Dementia diagnosis in January 2025
In a heart-wrenching update, Linda revealed that Pauline, her friend of over 50 years and co-star in Birds of a Feather, no longer recognises her or speaks much during their FaceTime calls. Despite ruling out any further filming for the sitcom without Pauline, Linda plans to honour her long-time friend in other ways.

Over her 50-year career, Pauline has graced more than 60 television and film productions, including The Sculptress, Broadchurch, Carrie’s War, North and South, Casualty, and ITV soap Emmerdale. Dementia manifests differently in different people, but there are some common early signs that may appear before a diagnosis, according to the NHS.

Common early symptoms of dementia

Memory loss
Difficulty concentrating
Finding it hard to carry out familiar daily tasks
Struggling to follow a conversation or find the right word
Being confused about a time and place
Mood changes

The NHS website explains: “These symptoms are often mild and may get worse only very gradually.

“It’s often termed ‘mild cognitive impairment’ (MCI) as the symptoms are not severe enough to be diagnosed as dementia.”

The health system also states that dementia is not a natural part of ageing, and recommend seeing a GP sooner rather than later if you’re worried about memory problems or other symptoms.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dazzled fans with their huge public displays of affection at the Invictus Games, but what are they really like behind the scenes? The Mirror’s Patrick Hill spent four days with the Sussexes and delivers his verdict

It was a moment that involved no speech, yet said more than a million words ever could.

After months of speculation about their marriage, Meghan leaned into Harry and tenderly put her head on his shoulder as they held hands. They may have been surrounded by more than 40,000 people at the Invictus Games opening ceremony, but despite the gaze of many being on them, it was clear they only had eyes for each other.

While enjoying a shared moment of satisfaction in what Harry, 40, has achieved to change the perception of injured military veterans worldwide, they were also sending a message of love, unity and togetherness about themselves.

The pair shared a loving kiss at the Invictus Games opening ceremony in Vancouver on Saturday ( 
Image:
Samir Hussein/WireImage)

The Duchess of Sussex watches the wheelchair basketball match between the USA v Nigeria during day one of the 2025 Invictus Games ( 
Image:
Karwai Tang/WireImage)
Some may baulk at the former actress and Harry’s public displays of affection during these Games, including a kiss worthy of ending any Hollywood movie. But watching them together here in Canada I have absolutely no doubt every single one is absolutely genuine and heartfelt.

I have been lucky enough to see them up close, as an accredited journalist, at three previous Invictus Games, including the one held in Toronto when they were pictured together for the first time. I was sent to Windsor to watch as they blissfully paraded through the streets after getting married in May the following year.

And I also saw them at events during their royal style tour of Colombia in August last year. But in all that time, I have never seen them looking so happy and in-step with each other as they have here in Vancouver and Whistler.

Outside temperatures have at times plunged as low as -12, but everywhere they have been together they have radiated genuine warmth and happiness.

The couple were in good spirits despite freezing temperatures on Tuesday ( 
Image:
Humphrey Nemar)

They laughed together on stage in Whistler after Harry joked Meghan was about to sing ( 
Image:
Humphrey Nemar/staff Photographer.)Harry publicly addressed rumours about he and Meghan’s marriage in December last year, as well as speculation about why they had chosen to carry out some work independently of each other. He laughed as he said: “Apparently we’ve bought or moved house 10, 12 times. We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it’s just like, what?’.

“It’s hard to keep up with, but that’s why you just sort of ignore it. The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls. Their hopes are just built and built, and it’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and then it doesn’t happen. So I feel sorry for them. Genuinely, I do.”

During the same sit-down chat on stage in New York City, Harry also spoke of how he loves his life in Montecito, California, with Meghan, 43, and their two children Archie, five, and Lilibet, three. He added: “I feel as though it’s the life that my mum wanted for me.

“To be able to do the things I’m able to do with my kids that I undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the UK — it’s huge. I’m hugely grateful for that.”

Harry and Meghan watching wheelchair curling in Whistler on Monday ( 
Image:
Humphrey Nemar)
There have been recent negative headlines about Meghan’s upcoming Netflix TV show, titled With Love, Meghan, and she and Harry have been upset by a new book and a cover piece in Vanity Fair, which included a string of lurid claims.

And everyone it seems has an opinion about Harry and Meghan and the way they are publicly perceived, including a group of women linked to the Nigerian Invictus team, who refused to speak to British journalists at one Invictus event on Sunday due to their belief they are against Meghan.

Biographer Tom Bower, who wrote a best-selling book about the couple and their separation from the royal family and was sitting in the press seats at the opening ceremony, also came in for some tough treatment from a Harry and Meghan fan in Vancouver earlier this week.

But broadly, everywhere Harry and Meghan went during their five-day trip together, there was nothing but positivity. From the very first moment they were first spotted arriving here in a cavalcade of cars, they have been seen almost constantly smiling and laughing, while enjoying each other’s company.

Meghan enjoyed Harry’s impression of a Canadian moose ( 
Image:
Humphrey Nemar)
At the wheelchair basketball finals on Sunday night, Meghan couldn’t help bursting out laughing at Harry’s goofy impression of a Canadian moose. She chuckled heartily, before jokingly admonishing him, after he joked that she was about to follow in their close pal Michael Buble’s footsteps by singing on stage to a crowd of more than 1,000 people on Monday.

And she was also seen visibly amused at the thought of him racing ten-year-old Australian schoolboy Hamish Greenstreet down the slopes in Whistler, before celebrating with a triumphant “yes!” at the finish line on Tuesday.

Cynthia Phelps, whose husband James served alongside Harry at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan in 2012, perfectly summed up the mood here about Harry and Meghan. She told me: “Meghan is always personable and very down to earth and just really cares about us. Every time she talks to us it’s very visible and genuine.

“They genuinely care about the healing journey of every single one of the competitors. It’s a blessing to be able to spend time with them.”

Former Suits star Meghan, who held Cynthia’s seven-month-old baby Laramie in her arms as she told how she was missing her own children, is now back in California on motherly duties.

For her, this year’s Invictus Games is over. But the memories she and Harry made here and the message it sent to the world will continue to be poured over and remembered for a long time to come.

A brand new book by Tom Quinn claims to lift the lid on what a whole host of royals, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are like behind closed doors – as told by those who work for them

A brand new royal book has hit shelves that claims to expose what the Firm is really like behind closed doors – as told by those who work at the palace.

Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants by Tom Quinn recounts the memories of staff working inside the royal bubble – and claims to lift the lid on a whole host of royals, including the Prince and Princess of Wales as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before they sensationally quit royal life.

From Meghan’s apparent difficulty understanding how the palace machine worked to Queen Camilla’s alleged moans about protocol, The Mirror takes a look at some of the book’s biggest claims…

Meghan’s hug ‘outrage’

When it comes to Meghan trying to navigate life in the Royal Family, the book examines the hurdles she faced. And it claims that her “warm, friendly hug-everyone approach” caused tension to develop between William and Harry, with problems arising “fairly early on”.

The book contains claims about Meghan’s love of hugging ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
Quinn claims Kate, William and Charles “tended to flinch when she moved in for a hug”, as they weren’t used to so much affection between royals. He says California native Meghan was “understandably hurt”. He also says that Meghan also left courtiers ‘outraged’ with her affection. He added: “The courtiers were almost as outraged when Meghan tried to hug a singularly stiff Old Etonian equerry. He flinched as if she’d tried to poke him in the eye, as one staffer put it.

‘Goody two-shoes’

In another part of the book, Meghan’s approach to royal life is compared to that of her sister-in-law, Kate. Quinn quotes a palace insider as saying that Kate “doesn’t jump in straight away” and that she “bides her time” as she is “very intelligent and intuitive”.

Meghan with sister-in-law Kate
But another former Kensington Palace staffer claims that Meghan thought Kate was “just too eager to please, too much a goody-two-shoes girl.” They added that many at the palace did like Meghan’s feisty nature while others felt her making changes was “not an acceptable role for a complete outsider”.

Wild perception

The new book also says that Meghan’s American upbringing sheltered her from the realities of British royal life. Quinn writes that when Meghan discovered that Harry was only worth about £20million, she “quickly realised” that she needed to “reassess other assumptions she’d made about this strange new family”.

As one royal staff member put it, “She expected a billionaire and she got a millionaire.” A member of her former team is also quoted as saying that the actress “really disliked the hierarchy”. Giving an example of senior royals getting jealous of each other’s materialistic goods, the ex-staff member said: “Meghan thought they behaved like babies.”

Camilla’s request

As another newcomer when she married into the Royal Family almost 20 years ago, the book claims that Queen Camilla also found adapting to royal life tough. And ahead of her wedding to King Charles in April 2005, Quinn claims that Camilla asked her soon-to-be-husband: “Can’t we get away from all this protocol? “It’s all bo****ks.” Charles, who is said to hate swearing, allegedly replied: “You’re doing it [becoming queen] for me, darling.”

Queen Camilla with husband King Charles ( 
Image:
PA)

Meghan’s nickname

The royals are known for their love of nicknames, and one that Meghan allegedly earned is detailed in the book. According to Quinn, “her nickname for a while was the Duchess of Difficult, but she had other, friendlier nicknames, including Mystic Meg, while came about because she was so new agey, so woke, about so many things”.

It was previously revealed that Charles had his own nickname for Meghan during her time as a working royal, with the King recognising her resilience. He affectionately called her Tungten, due to her being ‘tough and unbending’, it was claimed. Tungsten refers to a metal in the periodic table, which is known for its high melting point and core strength.

Part-time Diana

Meanwhile, members of staff for Meghan and Harry reportedly revealed to the author that Princess Diana was a big inspiration for Meghan when she entered royal life and that Meghan said she wanted to “finish” what her late mother-in-law “started”. They also noted that the Duchess of Sussex really would have preferred to undertake their royal duties only on a part-time basis – something that both Harry and Meghan have said themselves.

“Meghan once said, ‘What Diana started I want to finish,’ and we took that to mean she wanted to become a sort of globetrotting champion of the poor and the marginalised,” the insider claimed.

Meanwhile, life was completely different for William and Kate growing up. While Kate experienced all of the normalities of an ordinary family, William grew up in the spotlight and his family dynamic was broken following his parents’ split and his mother’s tragic death. Quinn writes about William’s “needier side” in the book and reveals a heartbreaking admission a former maid allegedly made about his childhood.

The staffer claimed Kate had to explain many of the things parents do outside of the Royal Family and even showed William how to “give the children a piggyback”. They said: “William said very quietly, ‘My father never gave me a piggyback’.”

Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants by Tom Quinn is published today.

Prince Harry made a surprise appearance at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles, where he talked about how ‘basic morals and empathy are abandoned’ in what could be seen in a dig at US President Donald Trump

Prince Harry appeared to make another veiled dig at Donald Trump – just hours after his father King Charles extended him an ‘unprecedented’ invite.

The Duke of Sussex made a surprise appearance at the Upfront Summit – a summit for investors, entrepreneurs, and leaders – in Los Angeles. Harry’s appearance at the event had been unannounced but he took to the stage for a speech telling delegates he had something important to say

During his speech, he explained how he had been investing his money over the last five years since quitting his royal role and how he still approaches his work “through the lens of service”. But in one eye-raising moment during the speech, he appeared to take another swipe at the US president when he talked about how billions of people are feeling the “detrimental effect” when “basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favour of power and control”.

Prince Harry spoke at the Upfront Summit ( 
Image:
PA)
He added: “Now this would be a great time to talk about how a sickness in leadership across sectors—from politics to tech—can have a detrimental effect on millions, if not billions, of people. When service to others is sacrificed for personal gain. When basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favour of power and control. But I’m not gonna get into all that now!”

The veiled swipe came just hours after Keir Starmer met President Trump at the White House yesterday with the Prime Minister delivering an invitation from the King for Trump to make a second state visit to the UK.

Prince Harry and US President Donald Trump
During a meeting, the Prime Minister presented Trump with a letter from the King, as he invited him for the visit. As the two were sitting next to each other in the Oval Office, Sir Keir handed him the personal invitation from the King, later saying “this is truly historic and unprecedented”. After reading it, Mr Trump then said: “That’s a great, great honour. And that says at Windsor – that’s really something.”

However, it is not the first time, Harry has seemingly criticised Trump. Earlier this month at the opening of the Invictus Games in Canada, the Duke of Sussex also railed against the “lack of weak moral character in the world “. That also came hours after Trump criticised Harry’s wife Meghan calling her “terrible”.

Elsewhere in Harry’s speech yesterday, he also claimed that he has never been allowed to vote in elections – but has personal experience of the “power of serving others firsthand.” He explained: “I’m not one to be caught in the divide between left or right views, not cornered by a belief in blue or red. Hell, I’ve never even been allowed to vote!

“From my institutional role travelling the world to my decade of duties in the military, I saw the power of serving others firsthand,” he said. “My personal experiences overseas taught me that when you put others first, you build stronger, more sustainable systems. That’s true from Nigeria to Nepal, and from Sydney to Santa Barbara.”

Sir Trevor McDonald has defended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in a new article for Saga – and has said that Meghan ‘could have brought a new dimension to the monarchy’

Top former newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald has shared his thoughts on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and has claimed that Meghan Markle “never stood a chance” in the royal family.

Harry and Meghan famously quit royal life in January 2020, less than two years after their wedding. Since then they have made a series of public attacks on The Firm and are now all but estranged from the family.

Writing in Saga magazine, Sir Trevor claimed that Meghan could have brought “a new dimension to the monarchy”. “By having a different background, perhaps she could have changed how the Royal Family is perceived by those who had never before felt a strong connection,” he wrote.

“Yet it seems to me that precisely because of those differences, she never stood a chance of being accepted. To be blunt, she is a foreigner: an American, a divorcee, a former actress – and black. She was never given a chance to prove herself.”

no longer part of the working monarchy.” He noted that Harry’s presence would give the royals strength in numbers, noting that the past year has exposed how ‘slimmed down’ the monarchy has become, with both the King and Princess Kate taking time out for cancer treatment.

“From where we are today, it looks almost impossible that someone could persuade Harry and his family to come back to Britain,” he said, but added: “I sincerely hope it can be done one day; we cannot afford to lose someone so young, so full of energy and so imbued with the charitable instincts that are at the core of our Royal Family.”

While Sir Trevor has claimed Meghan ‘never stood a chance’ with the Firm, royal insiders have said she struggled with one major aspect of life within the House of Windsor.

In his new book, ‘Yes Ma’am’, royal author Tom Quinn cites a former member of the royal household who said that Meghan “hated” having to let people know her movements, and the timings of her comings and goings.

He quotes a former Kensington Palace staffer as saying: “Meghan quite rightly hated the fact that when she was in Nottingham Cottage, she had to agree well in advance what time she might leave for an appointment or an event and she had to make sure she didn’t leave at the same time as, or clash in any way with, a more senior royal leaving the palace.”

Another source – who is said to have worked for the late Queen Elizabeth – told Quinn that the hierarchical nature of the Royal Family meant that Meghan, alongside the other royals, had to work to support the monarch as the centre of the institution, rather than shining her own light – something that she “struggled” with. Outside the monarchy having your own path would be “fair enough” the source explained, but inside the institution things have to be “tightly controlled”.

The Princess of Wales is said to have a WhatsApp group with ‘normal people’ as Royal experts explained how Kate Middleton is eager to give her children a ‘normal upbringing’

Raising the next generation of royal can’t be easy – and in an effort to keep her children grounded, the Kate Middleton is doing what she can to facilitate a ‘normal’ upbringing.

That includes joining the ubiquitous ‘parents’ WhatsApp group – a normally busy chat of fellow mums and dads that many will identify with.

In a recently aired Channel 5 documentary called ‘Prince George: How To Make a Monarch’, royal insiders and former aides dished out insider details about how the future King is being raised.

Ailsa Anderson, former Press Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II revealed: “Apparently Catherine has a WhatsApp group where she communicates with other parents, so it’s very much, quite a normal upbringing.”

Adding to the conversation, psychotherapist Lucy Beresford outlined the intentional steps taken by William and Kate to blend their royal life with common experiences for their three children.

Catherine is keen to raise her children to be grounded ( 
Image:
(Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage) Getty)
She shared: “I think William and Kate, making sure that George, Charlotte and Louie have these normalising experiences where they just interact with really normal people, actually gives them that grounded sense that they are human beings like the rest of us, they’re not rarefied, they’re not elevated and it could hopefully dilute that sense of ‘I’m invincible’.”

The Daily Telegraph’s royal correspondent, India McTaggart, suggested that Kate’s parenting choices are influenced by her own upbringing. She speculated that Kate has “brought so much from her Middleton upbringing and her family values, that I think has completely informed the way that she is raising the next generation of Royals”.

And, like many other parents of pre-teens, Kate and William will soon face another significant decision – which school to choose for their child’s secondary education.

Several prestigious schools are apparently being considered, including Marlborough College, which Kate attended from 1996-2000, and Eton, the former boarding school of 11-year-old George’s father and uncle, which has educated many prominent British figures over the years.

Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, focuses on positive, inspiring lifestyle content – however there are a few nods and digs at the struggles she’s faced in the last few years

Meghan Markle makes several veiled comments about the difficulties she’s faced in recent years during her new Netflix show.

While With Love, Meghan, focuses on lifestyle content rather than personal issues, the duchess still hints at past struggles. In the penultimate episode, Meghan discusses healing with beauty businesswoman Vicky Tsai.

They talk about Kintsugi, which is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using gold and lacquer. Meghan says: “You gave me this idea, I think it’s so meaningful, that if you break something that is precious and valuable, it’s not broken.

“That fracture actually makes it more beautiful, that break makes it more beautiful. And I just think that it felt really symbolic of saying to anyone if you’ve been through something, you’re not broken. It can be fixed, it can be sealed and healed at the same time.”

Meghan Markle during her new Netflix show ( 
Image:
Netflix)

Agreeing, Vicky adds: “Or celebrated because it’s what makes you beautiful. Perfect isn’t beautiful. Things that have lived and been dropped and put back together again are more beautiful.”

Elsewhere in the series during a chat with her former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, the pair sit around a table enjoying food. Abigail says: “We’ve all been through a lot”, before looking towards Meghan. While Meghan didn’t make the comment, she asks as executive producer so it’s likely she made the decision to keep the comment in.

In the final episode, Meghan hosts a brunch for family and friends including Prince Harry and her mum Doria. As she toasts her guests, she hints at what she’s had to give up in recent years. She says: “This feels like a new chapter that I’m so excited I get to share. I’ve been able to learn from all of you. So just thank you for the love and support. And here we go, it’s a business. All of it is part of the creativity that I’ve missed so much.”

Meghan hosts a brunch for her pals in the final episode of the series ( 
Image:
JAKE ROSENBERG/NETFLIX)
While Meghan hints at the past, the new focuses very much on the future – which is a sharp contrast to the Sussexes’ first show with Netflix, during which they spoke repeatedly about their time in the Royal Family. The fly-on-the-wall style show, which aired in 2022, the couple made countless comments about their time in The Firm, personally naming many of Harry’s relatives.

One of the most discussed moments from the show saw Harry’s reaction to a message sent by his older brother, Prince William, shortly after their controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey. Meghan can be seen chatting on the phone to their friend Tyler Perry – who the couple lived with when they first moved to the US.

A worried Harry walks over and shows Meghan a message on his phone. Confused, Meghan asks: “What am I looking at?” before reading the message. She then replies with just one, stunned word: “Wow”. The pair look at each other for a moment, before Meghan goes back to her call with Perry, saying: “H just got a text from his brother.” A distressed Harry puts his hands behind his head, saying: “I wish I knew what to do.”

Meghan replies: “I know. Let’s take a breather. Get some air and then decide.” She then stands up and wraps her arms around his waist, giving him a hug. The couple take a moment to embrace in silence, staring out the window – while the cameras continue to roll.

As the long-awaited series With Love, Meghan, drops on Netflix today, Siobhan McNally says the Duchess of Sussex is so out-of-touch with the real world, she comes from another planet – Planet Hollywood

It was a terrible shame that With Love, Meghan was postponed due to the Los Angeles wildfires because I really don’t know how we all coped so long without her gratuitously hypocritical and condescending cooking and lifestyle show, full of insufferable drivel dressed up as parenting advice.

But now that the Duchess of Sussex’s long-awaited eight-part series has dropped on Netflix, we really ought to thank Prince Harry’s American wife for uniting our nation in our condemnation of the new show.

The former Suits actress’s series has cost the streaming giant $100million – which is a lot of money for what feels like a comedy show. It should really be renamed With Lolz, Meghan because at least she’s given us all something to laugh about together as we teeter on the precipice of World War III.

While Harry’s mum Diana became known as the ‘people’s princess’ for her down-to-earth personality, Mrs Sussex – as she passive aggressively reminds one of the show flunkies who dares use her maiden name Markle – is so out-of-touch, she’s clearly from another planet – Planet Hollywood.

“We’re not in the pursuit of perfection, we’re in the pursuit of joy,” she says in her new show, before giving us a peek into her carefully curated flawless luxury life. But it really doesn’t take much talent or creativity to create an enviable lifestyle with a bottomless budget.

In the show, we see Prince Harry congratulating Meghan for organising her wrap party as they all smugly clink the finest crystal champagne glasses. “Well done. You did a great job!” her posh husband chunters.

Oh come now, Hazza. How hard can it be to phone up the local luxury florist and get them to send over $10,000-worth of white peonies for your table decorations?

What I’d like to see is his missus throw a party with a budget of $20 to spend on home decor from Matalan where the kids have helped decorate the house with their disturbing scribbles and made cupcakes from a mixture of bogeys and plasticine – because that’s real family life.

When my daughter Jesse was little she insisted on helping me make “can-of-peas” (canapés) for guests when I threw a party – and everyone went down with Norovirus the next day.

The show, which was filmed in a $5m rented California farmhouse rather than in Sussex’s Montecito house, features Meghan talking about the joys of playing in the sandbox with her children like she’s just a normal fun mum. Yeah well I bet she’s never had to check the sand pit for dog poo before letting her kids play in it.

I’m not alone in thinking the show is a load of fake nonsense – thousands of mums have been taking to social media to pour scorn on Meghan’s unrealistic parenting advice, as she tells us all how we can make breakfast time “more fun”.

Clearly Harry’s precious wife has never had to rush around at 7.30am making “healthy” school packed lunches for a child who only eats crustless beige food, or tried to dry a damp school shirt that was left overnight in the washing machine with a hairdryer, all the while trying to stop her youngest from feeding Weetabix to the hamster.

And then to add insult to injury, the Duchess’s inspiring breakfast hack to encourage Lilibet, 3, and five-year-old Archie to eat more fruit was creating a rainbow platter of exotic fruit which the Mirror has calculated cost £32. That sort of wasteful lavishness shows that money and sense is no object in the Sussex household, and is cruelly tone deaf during a cost of living crisis where hard-up parents often live on that for the entire week.

I used to stick googly eyes on apples and bananas instead to get my daughter to eat them – a lot cheaper but the downside is she may have ingested more plastic than fruit than current NHS guidelines allow.

Anyway, everyone knows breakfast times are not fun with children – they are to be endured until the kids are old enough to pick up a can of Monster energy drink on the way to school in the morning instead.

And no amount of sprinkling dried flower petals over their food like Meghan suggests in her “tips and tricks” is going to change that. In fact I have always had enough trouble with my own child picking bits out of her meals without purposely adding unidentified objects to them.

In a fawning interview with a magazine, the duchess said Archie had told her, “Mama, don’t work too hard”, during the filming of the show. So is this Meghan’s new career now? Whatever happened to that working actress who delivered UN speeches empowering girls to challenge the status quo and who refused to toe the line to the British monarchy.

Well, it seems they should now all be picking their own berries to make homemade jam and using their quiet “bee voices” because that radical feminist has been replaced by a trad wife Instagram influencer peddling uninspiring content with mawkish sentiments and corny platitudes.

Please don’t bless us with a second series, Netflix – a meteor would be preferable.