There’s no doubt that it’s been a difficult time for Meghan Markle and, last week, the stress of the past few months was on display as the Duchess of Sussex allowed her confident image to slip when she was spotted wearing a ‘stress patch’.
Running errands with a bodyguard in tow close to the home she shares with Prince Harry and their two children – Archie, four, and two-year-old Lilibet – in Montecito, Meghan looked unusually downcast as she wrapped up in an unseasonably warm coat and made no effort to disguise the bright blue circular patch on her wrist.
And while fans speculated that wellness fan Meghan, 42, may have agreed a sponsorship deal with the brand NuCalm, who produce the patch, a spokesperson for the company denies any partnership.
However, a source says the clear visibility of the patch – which works by sending electromagnetic frequencies to the brain in order to switch the nervous system out of what is essentially its ‘fight or flight mode’ – is a clear sign that Meghan is sending an SOS to her loved ones, in particular Harry while he was away on a charity tour of Asia.
The source says, “The last few months, even years, have been extremely hard for Meghan and there’s a real fear that this patch is a way for her to send a silent, but effective, cry for help to the people in her orbit – in particular Harry.
“It’s an SOS that could signal that she’s really struggling with the sheer scale of stress and the weight of responsibility that’s on her shoulders.”
While Meghan and Harry’s rift with the Royal Family is unlikely to be healed any time soon, the former Suits star appeared to have distanced herself from the feud – choosing not to attend the Coronation of King Charles in May – and instead thrown herself into her career.
But after signing with new agency, WME, in April, Meghan was dealt a huge blow in June when hers and Harry’s £16 million deal with streaming giant Spotify was terminated after just 12 episodes of her debut podcast, Archetypes.
At the time, Spotify executive Bill Simmons called the couple “grifters”, while another top talent boss described Meghan as “not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent”. Around the same time, the couple have been hit by growing speculation that their relationship is on the rocks and they have been spending time apart – leading one of the authors behind the biography Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie, to rubbish the claims on social media.
The troubled pair are now reportedly adapting the film Meet Me At The Lake after Netflix purchased the rights to Carley Fortune’s novel. Now the source says that while Harry, 38, had hoped for a new start for Meghan – whose pre- and post-natal depression became so bad during her time as a working royal that she contemplated suicide – this latest tide of negativity has reminded him of their darkest days as a couple.
The source says, “Harry has been desperately worried about Meghan and all the stress she’s had to endure for longer than he can remember.
"He’s been imploring her to hang in there, but is fully aware of how hard it is because he suffers the same difficulties coping with it himself. The fact she’s now resorting to wellness patches to cope makes Harry even more concerned.”
However, while Harry continued his mini tour of Asia ahead of his trip with Meghan to the Invictus Games in Germany next month, she’s been bonding with her LA pals – attending a Taylor Swift concert and watching the Barbie movie with neighbour Portia De Rossi, the wife of Ellen DeGeneres.
And the source says Meghan’s LA pals have been a lifeline during this difficult time.
They say, “Meghan has other coping tools like meditation and yoga, plus she exercises most days, but she’s also started to lean on her friends a lot more. She’s feeling quite needy because there’s so much uncertainty at the moment.
“Meghan has a tight-knit circle of friends in Montecito who are also lending their support, the likes of Ellen and Portia, [cosmetics tycoon] Victoria Jackson, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow and others like her mum Doria of course – all of whom are telling her what a great job she’s doing rising above it all.”
Fans have also speculated that Meghan could be set to follow in the footsteps of the likes of wellness guru Gwyneth, and the patch could be a sure sign of her next career move.
Meghan also ran her lifestyle website The Tig for three years before she was forced to shut it down when she became engaged to Prince Harry in 2017.
In March it was revealed by a US website that the US Trademark and Patent Office had given pre-approval for the website to be re-launched, and the source says Meghan can’t wait for this next chapter.
“The Tig has always been her baby, she never wanted to put it on hiatus but did so to keep the Royal Family happy,” the insider says.
“She’s always been passionate about wellness and loves the idea of teaming up with like-minded celebs, including Gwyneth, Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston. Meghan’s really hoping that, with a change of focus, she’ll be able to make her comeback finally.”
