Meghan Markle Recalls Struggle Gaining 65 Pounds And Wearing Heels While Pregnant As A Working Royal

Meghan Markle wrapped up the first season of her "Confessions of a Female Founder" podcast by reflecting on pregnancy, entrepreneurship, and her lifestyle brand, As Ever.

The Duchess of Sussex recalled wearing stilettos while heavily pregnant and how she would lean on her husband, Prince Harry, for support.

After launching three new ventures in 2025, Meghan Markle appears to be planning to pause and assess her next steps, hinting at a broader 2026 release and a possible move into fashion.

On the final episode of her podcast, Meghan opened up about her experiences during pregnancy with her two children, Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 3.

The former actress chatted with Spanx founder Sara Blakely, who shared stories about designing a sneaker heel. The conversation sparked Meghan's own memory of navigating royal duties while heavily pregnant.

Reflecting on a 2019 moment from her time as a working royal, Meghan laughed about a photo a pal had recently reminded her of.

"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,'" Meghan recalled, per People Magazine.

Despite gaining around 65 pounds during each pregnancy, Meghan said she continued to wear her signature five-inch, pointy-toed heels at public events.

"I always wear my five-inch, pointy-toed stilettos," she admitted, noting that her friend was surprised by the image of her pregnant in heels. "'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.'"

The Tuesday episode marked the conclusion of the debut season of Meghan's podcast, "Confessions of a Female Founder," which launched on April 8 following its official announcement in March.

Over the course of the season, Meghan sat down with a series of inspiring women entrepreneurs, many of whom she shares personal ties with.

Guests included Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd, Girls Who Code and Moms First founder Reshma Saujani, Kadi Lee of Highbrow Hippie, Jamie Kern Lima of IT Cosmetics, Hannah Mendoza of Clevr Blends, Heather Hasson of FIGS, and Kitsch's Cassandra Morales Thurswell.

The podcast's release came shortly after the launch of Meghan's lifestyle brand, which was initially introduced as American Riviera Orchard.

In February, she announced the brand would be renamed as As Ever. The brand's first product line, a limited-edition collection of artisanal food items, was released to the public on April 2 and sold out within 45 minutes.

Meghan has hinted that her popular jam, which quickly sold out, may not return to shelves anytime soon, as she takes a pause to reflect on her next steps with her lifestyle brand, As Ever.

In an interview, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, told Fast Company that she plans to "step back, gather data from the launch, and figure out exactly what As Ever could be."

While she acknowledged the buzz around her debut product line, Meghan suggested that she's more focused on the long-term vision for the brand than on restocking items.

Looking ahead, she teased a broader product launch slated for early 2026 and hinted at a potential expansion into fashion.

"The category of fashion is something I will explore at a later date," she shared, "because I do think that's an interesting space for me."

Speaking to People Magazine, Meghan reflected on how connecting with other women in business has shaped her perspective as a founder.

"What's been meaningful is being able to talk about my own entrepreneurial journey with other female founders who are either on their own trajectory of growth or have IPO'd, sold, or created high-impact brands and gone through all of the learning curves that we all do at the start," she said.

She likened the entrepreneurial process to a progression: "You're just trying to figure out how to walk, then you want to learn how to run, and then you want to learn how to fly. All of those things take time."

Meghan also emphasized the value of continuous learning and how much she appreciates the opportunity to grow alongside peers.

"There's also something very exciting and energizing about learning something new as we get older," Meghan noted. "The entrepreneurial journey, for anyone, is a lot, and I'm also really, really lucky that so many of my close friends are female founders that I can glean advice from."

During a chat on her podcast with Hannah Mendoza, co-founder of Clevr Blends, Meghan discussed the challenges of launching her lifestyle brand, As Ever, admitting that even with her platform, she struggled with self-doubt.

"I had a moment last week … I made a phone call, I said, 'Is this gonna work? Like, is this actually gonna work?' But I had that self-doubt," she confessed.

Despite her years in the public eye, she explained that the pressure of constant scrutiny didn't shield her from uncertainty.

"You can't bring self-doubt to your team that's junior to you. They have to believe in what you're creating and the vision and how you hold the line," Meghan said.