Meghan Markle Reveals Her Early Struggles To Find Work As A Model Due To Her 'Freckles'

Meghan Markle recently opened up about her early struggles while trying to make it in the entertainment industry.

The former actress revealed how her freckles and mixed-race identity led to frequent job rejections.

Meghan Markle shared the new information on her podcast's latest episode shortly after receiving praise for going makeup-free during another podcast appearance.

On the April 29 episode of her "Confessions of a Female Founder" podcast, Meghan spoke with Jamie Kern Lima, founder of IT Cosmetics, about the challenges she faced while trying to break into the industry.

Recalling her early auditions, Meghan shared that her freckles were considered a drawback.

"I remember [I could not be submitted] for beauty or skincare ads because I had freckles," she said, per People Magazine. "They're like, 'No, no, no, no. It's just never gonna work because freckles aren't a sign of beauty.'"

But it wasn't just her freckles. Meghan also opened up about how her mixed-race identity often worked against her.

"I heard no all the time, especially because I wasn't cookie-cutter for a specific type," she explained. "And at the start of my auditioning career, you were either the Black girl or the White girl or the Latina girl or the like, everything was typecast."

The duchess added that while she "could get into a lot of rooms," that only meant she heard "'no' even more."

A day before her podcast, Meghan appeared on "The Jamie Kern Lima Show," embracing a more intimate, natural side as she went makeup-free for her first-ever podcast interview outside her own show.

Lima revealed the casual setup, saying, "Usually when we're together, we're in our cozy sweats and no makeup. So that's how we are today, too, sitting right here in our cozies with no makeup. And I'm inviting you into the rocking chairs with us."

The conversation turned to Meghan's children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, when the duchess shared that she had been inspired by a fellow mom, to write messages and send candid photos to private email addresses she created for each child, meant to be opened by them in the future.

"One of our mom's friends, she had said to me last year that she just created, sort of, secret email addresses for her kids that she'll give to them at some point in their life. She would just send to them random pictures, the pictures that you aren't going to put in a frame," Meghan explained.

Elaborating on the digital time capsule, Meghan shared that she sends everything from school report cards to sweet breakfast moments and funny remarks they make.

She captures "the things that you're not going to frame, things that you're not going to put pen to paper in a journal," in the emails.

"But they will end up at one point in their life, maybe when they're 16 or when they're 18, that I say, 'Here's an email that I've been keeping for you," Meghan said. "For them to be able to look back and go, 'Oh my gosh, she has loved us so much!' And that's, I think, the best part about being a mom, and we go back to like, a love language or gifts."

The duchess noted, "It's not about the grandeur of a gesture. It's about, 'I see you. I'm nurturing you, and I see you so deeply. And I love being able to see your growth,' and I'm just so proud of them."

Her words left podcast host Lima visibly moved, saying the gesture gave her "full body chills."

Meghan also reflected on the evolution of her relationship with Prince Harry and the challenges they faced early on and how their bond has deepened over time.

She recalled the whirlwind start of their relationship, saying: "You have to imagine, at the beginning it's all butterflies - but then we immediately went into the trenches together. Right out of the gate, like six months into dating."

Now, seven years later, Meghan noted that "when you have a little bit of breathing space, you can just enjoy each other in a new way. And that's why I feel like it's more of a honeymoon period for us now."

She also gushed about Harry's looks, adding, "He's also a fox. If you haven't noticed, my husband is very, very handsome. But his heart is even more beautiful," affirming her belief that they'll remain together forever.

When Lima's podcast was released, royal fans were left stunned by Meghan's appearance as they praised the Duchess of Sussex for going makeup-free.

One person asked on X, "How is Meghan even more more beautiful and glowing without makeup on [?]"

Another person replied, "I love when she goes makeup free or makeup light. One of my favorite looks on her is in the docu when she has her hair in the towel and 0 makeup. She looks so good."

A third royal fan noted that Meghan is "living a healthy, happy life. Healthy emotionally and physically."