Meghan Markle has opened up about the relentless cyberbullying she has endured over the past decade, describing herself as once being "the most trolled person in the entire world."
Speaking to students at Australia's Swinburne University of Technology alongside Prince Harry, the Duchess of Sussex reflected on the intense online harassment she has faced since her relationship with Harry became public in 2016.
"For now, 10 years, every day for 10 years, I have been bullied and attacked," Markle told the students, according to Reuters. "And I was the most trolled person in the entire world. Now I'm still here."
The 44-year-old expressed concern about social media platforms' lack of incentive to curb online abuse, particularly as it affects younger generations.
"I think so much of that is having to realize that you know that industry, that billion-dollar industry, that is completely anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks—that's not going to change," she continued. "So, you have to be stronger than that."
Markle revealed that the abuse reached its peak during her pregnancies with her children, Prince Archie, now 6, and Princess Lilibet, now 4. Speaking at the SXSW Conference in March 2024, she described what should have been a "tender and sacred" time instead becoming the period of "the bulk of the bullying and abuse" she experienced.
"To really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful," Markle reflected, "it's not catty—it's cruel. And why would [you] do that, certainly, when you're pregnant, with a newborn?"
She credited her maternal instincts with helping her endure the harassment.
"Because I was pregnant, that mammalian instinct just kicked in," Markle recalled. "You do everything you can to protect your child, and as a result, protect yourself too."
In response to the online abuse, Markle took significant steps to protect her mental health. She closed her personal Instagram account in 2018, the year she married Prince Harry, with Kensington Palace stating at the time that she "has taken the decision to close them" after not using the accounts "for some time."
Markle only returned to Instagram in January 2025, keeping her comment section disabled while occasionally sharing glimpses of her family life with Harry and their children.