Meghan Markle Reflects on Pregnancy as a Working Royal and Gaining 65 Lbs. with Archie and Lilibet

Meghan Markle got candid about her pregnancies with son Archie, 6, and daughter Lilibet, almost 4, on the finale of the first season of her Lemonada Media podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.

In the eighth and final episode, which aired on Tuesday, May 27, the Duchess of Sussex spoke with Spanx founder Sara Blakely, who discussed the origins of her sneaker heel, reminding Markle of her own experiences with heels during her pregnancies.

“A friend just said to me the other day, they were like, ‘I just saw this picture I’d forgotten about when you were so pregnant with Archie,’ ” Markle recalled of 2019, when she was still a working member of the royal family and making public appearances while pregnant.

The Suits alum shared that she “gained 65 Lbs. with both pregnancies,” but that didn’t stop her from sporting impressive heels during her official royal appearances.

“I always wear my five-inch, pointy-toed stilettos,” she admitted, adding that her friend was shocked by the photo. ” ‘You have the most enormous bump and your tiny little ankles are bracing themselves in these high heels,’ but all my weight was in the front. So you’re just going, how on Earth am I not just tipping, you know, face planting? I was clinging very closely to my husband, like, ‘Please don’t let me fall.’ “

Markle attended numerous public outings as a senior member of the royal family while pregnant with Archie. For her pregnancy with Lilibet in 2021, the duchess was living in California and kept her pregnancy mostly private.

Tuesday’s finale marked the end of the first season of Markle’s podcast, which premiered on April 8 following a March announcement.

Throughout the season, the Duchess of Sussex welcomed a lineup of female founders — several of whom are close friends — including Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble, Reshma Saujani of Girls Who Code and Moms First, Kadi Lee of Highbrow Hippie, Jamie Kern Lima of IT Cosmetics and The Jamie Kern Lima Show, Hannah Mendoza of Clevr Blends, Heather Hasson of FIGS and Cassandra Morales Thurswell of Kitsch.

The podcast coincided with the debut of her new lifestyle brand, As ever.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (@meghan)

In February, the Duchess of Sussex announced she was rebranding her lifestyle venture from American Riviera Orchard to As ever. Her debut product line — a curated collection of artisanal food items — sold out within 45 minutes when it launched on April 2.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the Duchess of Sussex opened up about how other female founders have inspired her as an entrepreneur.