Meghan Markle Talks Past Suicidal Thoughts Due To Online Bullying While In The Royal Family

Meghan Markle has courageously opened up about her struggle with suicidal thoughts after being subjected to bullying online.

The former actress and her husband, Prince Harry, launched The Parent Network program, an initiative from their Archewell Foundation that seeks to support parents whose children have been impacted by traumas related to harmful online content.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are also planning to travel to Colombia in the coming months to participate in the first World Ministerial Conference on the Elimination of Violence Against Children.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with Jane Pauley for a new "CBS Sunday Morning" interview, where she spoke about her experience dealing with suicidal thoughts after she suffered a bullying spate online.

On the show, they discussed their "No Child Lost To Social Media" campaign, an initiative of their nonprofit's program called The Parent Network, which they'll use to reach out to parents who have kids suffering from traumas that arose due to harmful social media use.

Pauley pressed Meghan about why she decided to speak out about her own experience after she revealed in her and Harry's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey that she "just didn't want to be alive anymore."

"When you've been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey, certainly part of mine, is being able to be really open about it," Meghan said, per The Independent. "And I haven't really scraped the surface on my experience. But I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way."

"And I would never want someone else to be making those sorts of plans. And I would never want someone else to not be believed," Meghan added.

Elsewhere in her pre-recorded conversation with Pauley, Meghan also opened up to the ace broadcaster about her motive behind sharing her story and supporting the initiative.

According to her, she hopes to lend her voice to support someone out there who might be going through her past suicidal experience because of online bullying.

"If me voicing what I have overcome will save someone or encourage someone in their life to really, genuinely check in on them and not assume that the appearance is good so everything is OK, then that's worth it. I'll take a hit for that," she explained.

The Montecito-based royals also shared their desire to protect Archie and Lilibet from harmful social media content.

"Our kids are young — they're 3 and 5. They're amazing," she said with a smile. "But all you want to do as parents is protect them."

"So as we can see what's happening in the online space, we know that there's a lot of work to be done there, and we're just happy to be able to be a part of change for good," Meghan added.

Pauley said, "You hope that when your children ask for help, someone, you know, is there to give it."

"If you know how to help," Harry chimed in. "At this point, we've got to the stage where almost every parent needs to be a first responder."

He added, "And even the best first responders in the world wouldn't be able to tell the signs of possible suicide. That is the terrifying piece of this."

The "Suits" star said at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas, that the online hate she suffered came at a vulnerable time of her life.

At the time, she explained that her online bullying was most intense when she was pregnant with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as well as when they were infants.

Responding to a question about Social Media being a place where women and girls are "objectified," "scrutinized," and "bullied," Meghan lamented why the situation is sadly so, adding that it was "interesting as I can reflect on it."

"I keep my distance from it right now just for my own well-being, but the bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and Lili, and with a newborn with each of them," she told the moderator, Errin Haines.

"You just think about that, and to really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. It's not catty, it's cruel. And why you would do that, certainly, when you're pregnant, with a newborn, we all know as moms, it's such a tender and sacred time," she added.

Harry and Meghan will embark on another foreign tour later this year, this time to Colombia, nearly 4,000 miles away from their current home in California, U.S.

The planned visit was confirmed by the South American country's vice president, Francia Marquez, in a statement via her office. During the trip, they will visit the capital city of Bogota and also make stops at the Caribbean and Pacific regions of Cartagena and Cali.

"In these vibrant locations, they will have the exceptional opportunity to engage with leaders, youth, and women who embody the aspirations and voices of Colombians committed to progress," read the statement from Ms Márquez's office, per the Daily Mail.

The statement added, "In addition to these meaningful interactions, the Duke and Duchess will experience the rich heritage of Colombia."