Meghan Markle had an emotional conversation about fathers on the final edition of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.
The Duchess of Sussex was joined by shapewear designer Sara Blakely, who spoke openly about her father’s effect on her business and worldview. This comes while Meghan remains alienated from her own father, Thomas Markle Snr.
Meghan’s once-close relationship with her father deteriorated around the time of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, when Thomas became embroiled in a scandal involving staged images with photographers, which were allegedly made in exchange for money.
Though he was originally set to walk Meghan down the aisle, a heart attack prevented Thomas from attending, a fact Meghan claims she learned “through a tabloid.” He later admitted that his involvement in the photo scheme made him look “stupid and hammy.”
Fast forward three years to her stunning interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Meghan revealed that she and her father were still estranged, saying she mourns “a lot” and thinks she has “lost my father.” The schism between Meghan and her father, who now lives in the Philippines with Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Jnr, shows no signs of improving.
Despite her personal family issues, Meghan expressed genuine pleasure throughout her conversation with Sara Blakely about the important role Blakely’s father played in her success story.
Sara described how intimate her business beginnings was, stating, “SPANX never had a board. For 16 years, my father served on the board, so he would travel into town four times a year to meet with me and the leadership team and discuss business.
“Wow, wow,” Meghan replied before diving deeper. “I recall reading, or maybe you told me, that when you were younger, your father would ask around the dinner table, ‘What did you fail at this week? What did you fail at today?’ This means that even if you failed, you tried magnificently, and it doesn’t matter. Was he asking the same questions when he first started advising on the business four times a year?
Sara emphasized her father’s influence, adding, “I was very fortunate to have a parent who was incredibly strategic in his thinking.”
He’s a lawyer, but he’s extremely intelligent, and I trusted him, which was huge for me. He was continually trying to convince my brother and me to redefine failure as we grew up. Listen, my brother is four years younger than I am. My brother created a product in a subject he has no knowledge of and then sold his firm. So something happened at our house.
She went on to elaborate: “My mom is a stay-at-home mother and an artist, and my dad is a litigator; he was a very charismatic trial attorney, and they really fostered something in our house.” Meghan recognized the importance of Sara’s upbringing, saying, “Wow, that’s huge, huge, and you had equal parts of that pragmatism and the creative from your mother as an artist, so you had both.”
The heartfelt conversation recalls Meghan’s glowing sentiments about her “thoughtful, inspiring, hardworking Daddy” before their relationship collapsed. The Duchess of Sussex frequently acknowledged the significance her father had in her upbringing on her lifestyle blog, The Tig, which she ran before marrying Prince Harry.
