Meghan Markle makes thinly veiled dig at critics who 'did not believe her'

Meghan, who celebrates her 43rd birthday today, and Harry, 39, spoke to the TV icon about their new initiative centred around children and social media, which will launch next week.

The interview featured the couple talking about a continuation of their work with parents who have lost their children to online bullying and abuse.

During the interview, Jane Pauley cited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's 2021 sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, where Meghan admitted she had contemplated committing suicide during her time as a working member of the Royal Family.

The interviewer said: "I'm dancing around this because I can see you're uncomfortable with me even going there."

Meghan replied: "I understand why you are though. I wasn't expecting it, but I understand why you are.

"When you've been through any level of pain or trauma, I believe part of our healing journey, certainly part of mine, is being able to be really open about it.

"I haven't really scraped the surface on my experience, but I do think that I would never want someone else to feel that way and I would never want someone to be making those sort of plans and I would never want someone else to not be believed."

After the duchess's 2021 bombshell interview, Piers Morgan, who previously hosted Good Morning Britain on ITV, made headlines around the world when he admitted to "not believing" Meghan.

The mother-of-two later wrote to ITV to lodge a formal complaint with the broadcaster over Morgan's comments.

Meghan continued: "So, if me voicing what I have overcome will save someone, or asks or encourage someone in their life to really genuinely check in on them, and not assume that the appearance is good so everything else is ok, then that's worth it, I'll take a hit for that."

Sunday's TV special marks the Sussexes’ first joint interview since their bombshell sit-down with Winfrey in March 2021, when they threw a series of accusations at the Royal Family.

This included claims that a senior royal had "concerns" about Prince Archie’s skin colour before his birth in 2019.

Harry is understood to remain estranged from his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William.

A CBS spokesperson said: “The Duke and Duchess sat down with ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ host Jane Pauley last week for an exclusive interview to introduce a program aimed at supporting parents whose children have been impacted by online harm. Jane also spoke with parents participating in the pilot program who described how it has helped their healing process.”

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Back in October, Harry and Meghan appeared alongside grieving parents at a panel in NYC, helmed by their Archewell Foundation, where they urged tech giants to modify addictive apps that can harm young people’s mental health.

“Please stop sending children content you wouldn’t want your own children to see,” Harry said in a plea to tech firms. “I think it’s a very simple request, and it’s an easy fix.”

Meghan also revealed at the time that they had been working in secret with tech companies over the past year.

"A year ago, we met some of the families, and at the time, it was impossible not to be in tears hearing their stories because it’s just that devastating,” the duchess said at the World Mental Health Day event.

“I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future. But I also feel frightened at how it’s continuing to change and this will be in front of us.”

Harry and Meghan also announced Thursday that they will visit Colombia at the invitation of the country’s Vice President, Francia Márquez, to engage in activities related to fostering a safer online environment.