Chrissy Teigen says Meghan Markle reached out to her after tragically losing her son Jack

Chrissy Teigen has said that Meghan Markle reached out to her after learning the model had tragically lost her baby son Jack halfway through her pregnancy.

Chrissy, 35, and her husband John Legend, 42, who are parents to Luna, five, and Miles, two, lost their son Jack in September last year – he was stillborn.

Pregnant Meghan, who is currently expecting her second child – a girl – with Prince Harry, tragically suffered her own miscarriage over the summer in 2020.

Chrissy praised the Duchess of Sussex for being ‘wonderful and so kind’ by reaching out to her with a touching letter during the difficult time.

‘She is really wonderful and so kind’: Chrissy Teigen has praised Meghan Markle who reached out to her after learning her baby son Jack died halfway through her pregnancy

Tragic: Meghan, who is currently expecting her second child – a girl – with Prince Harry, suffered her own miscarriage over the summer in 2020 (pictured in March of that year)

The model said on the Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen After Show: ‘She’s been so kind to me ever since we connected on, she had written to me about baby Jack and loss.

‘She is really wonderful and so kind, and just as kind as everyone says she is. She’s a really wonderful girl.’

It is thought that Chrissy and Meghan have got close since the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry relocated to California.

The two previously worked together as models on the TV game show Deal or No Deal at the start of their careers.

Chrissy and John shared the story of losing their son to a partial placental abruption in heartbreaking detail last year, and their candour was widely lauded for helping women discuss the often-taboo matter of baby loss.

Heartbreaking: The model, 35, and her husband John Legend, 42, who are parents to Luna, five, and Miles, two, lost their son Jack in September last year when he was stillborn (pictured with Jack in September)

In November, Meghan revealed she suffered a miscarriage over the summer of 2020 and described the ‘unbearable grief’ it caused her and Prince Harry in an article written for the New York Times.

Chrissy was also asked by host Andy Cohen about Meghan’s recent and explosive tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in March.

Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview sent shock waves around the world as the couple laid bare the extent of their rift with the Queen and other senior royals.

The couple also accused an unnamed Royal Family member of racism, suggesting the relative had asked ‘how dark’ their baby would be.

Chrissy revealed that she had spoke to Meghan after the interview aired but wouldn’t disclose what she said.

The model, who waited before watching the Oprah chat, admitted that it was ‘very eye-opening’.

Bombshell interview: Chrissy was also asked by host Andy Cohen about Meghan’s recent and explosive tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in March (pictured)

Chrissy said: ‘I think when I ended up watching it, it was like, “Holy s***, this is big.”

‘But I also waited a long time to watch it, so I had already heard so much about it by the time that I got to it. But yeah, it is – I mean, very eye-opening. Very eye-opening.’

Asked whether she had any ‘extra tea’ surrounding Meghan’s interview, Chrissy insisted: ‘Extra tea? Um, no. Honestly, no.

‘She’s been very open about what she’s been open with, and I think honestly her truth has been her truth since the very beginning. So, no, I didn’t get any extra extra.’

During Meghan and Prince Harry’s tell-all chat with Oprah, they accused an unnamed Royal Family member of racism, suggesting the relative had asked ‘how dark’ their baby would be.

They also said they had been driven out of Britain, in part, by racism and accused the Palace machinery of failing to support a ‘suicidal’ Meghan.

Heart wrenching: In October, Chrissy announced she and her husband John had lost their baby, days after she was admitted to the hospital with severe bleeding (pictured)

Brave: The model shared the heartbreaking news with a lengthy post and series of images on social media, saying their little boy, Jack, had died following ‘so many complications’

WHAT IS A STILLBIRTH?

A stillbirth occurs when a baby is born dead after 24 weeks of pregnancy.

If a baby dies before 24 weeks of pregnancy, it is known as a miscarriage.

Not all stillbirths can be prevented, however, not smoking or drinking, as well as not sleeping on your back and attending all antenatal appointments can reduce the risk.

What are the signs?

Signs may include the baby not moving as much as normal.

Pregnant women should contact their doctor immediately if they notice a difference to their baby’s movement.

What are the causes?

Stillbirths do not always have an obvious cause but may occur due to complications with the placenta or a birth defect.

They are also more likely to occur if women suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or an infection that affects the baby, such as flu.

Stillbirths are more likely to occur if women are having twins or multiple pregnancies, are overweight, smoke, are over 35 or have a pre-existing condition, such as epilepsy.

What happens after a stillbirth?

If a baby has died, women may wait for their labour to start naturally or they may be induced if their health is at risk.

Bereavement support groups are available to parents who have suffered stillbirths.

Some find it helpful to name their baby or take pictures with them.

Source: NHS Choices

Harry also revealed an astonishing rift with his father, saying his family had cut him off financially while suggesting the Queen had been badly advised and had cancelled a meeting scheduled at Sandringham.

Meghan also accused her sister-in-law Kate of making her cry, suggested senior royals plotted to ensure Archie would never have a title or adequate security and said officials had failed to stand up for the couple against ‘racist’ commentary.

The Duchess of Sussex also broke down in tears as she admitted to having suicidal feelings over her treatment in the UK.

Meghan revealed she told her husband she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ when feeling at an all-time low.

Last month, the Queen and Prince Charles backed Prince William after he insisted that the royals were ‘very much not a racist family’.

In October, Chrissy announced she and her husband John had lost their baby, days after she was admitted to the hospital with severe bleeding.

Family: Meghan revealed in February that she is expecting her second baby with Prince Harry, they are set to welcome a younger sister for their son Archie, who will be two in May (pictured 2019)

The model shared the heartbreaking news with a lengthy post and series of images on social media, saying their little boy, Jack, had died following ‘so many complications’.

Chrissy wrote on Instagram at the time: ‘We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before…

Meghan Markle on miscarriage, BLM and Covid-19 in the New York Times

On losing her baby in July

‘After changing his [Archie’s] diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.

‘I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.

‘Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.

‘Sitting in a hospital bed, watching my husband’s heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine, I realized that the only way to begin to heal is to first ask, ‘Are you OK?’

‘Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few. In the pain of our loss, my husband and I discovered that in a room of 100 women, 10 to 20 of them will have suffered from miscarriage. Yet despite the staggering commonality of this pain, the conversation remains taboo, riddled with (unwarranted) shame, and perpetuating a cycle of solitary mourning.

‘Some have bravely shared their stories; they have opened the door, knowing that when one person speaks truth, it gives license for all of us to do the same. We have learned that when people ask how any of us are doing, and when they really listen to the answer, with an open heart and mind, the load of grief often becomes lighter — for all of us’.

On Covid-19

‘This year has brought so many of us to our breaking points. Loss and pain have plagued every one of us in 2020, in moments both fraught and debilitating. We’ve heard all the stories: A woman starts her day, as normal as any other, but then receives a call that she’s lost her elderly mother to Covid-19. A man wakes feeling fine, maybe a little sluggish, but nothing out of the ordinary. He tests positive for the coronavirus and within weeks, he — like hundreds of thousands of others — has died.

‘We are adjusting to a new normal where faces are concealed by masks, but it’s forcing us to look into one another’s eyes — sometimes filled with warmth, other times with tears. For the first time, in a long time, as human beings, we are really seeing one another’.

On BLM and race relations

‘A young woman named Breonna Taylor goes to sleep, just as she’s done every night before, but she doesn’t live to see the morning because a police raid turns horribly wrong. George Floyd leaves a convenience store, not realizing he will take his last breath under the weight of someone’s knee, and in his final moments, calls out for his mom. Peaceful protests become violent. Health rapidly shifts to sickness. In places where there was once community, there is now division’.

‘We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough.

‘We never decide on our babies’ names until the last possible moment after they’re born, just before we leave the hospital. But we, for some reason, had started to call this little guy in my belly Jack.

‘So he will always be Jack to us. Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever.

‘To our Jack – I’m so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn’t give you the home you needed to survive. We will always love you.’

She added: ‘We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things we’ve been able to experience. But everyday can’t be full of sunshine.

‘On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it.’

Meghan revealed in February that she is expecting her second baby with Prince Harry, a spokesperson for the couple confirmed at the time.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are currently residing in California, are expecting a younger sister for their son Archie, who will be two in May.

A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry said at the time: ‘We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.’

The couple shared their announcement – aptly on Valentine’s Day – by posting a black and white image of Harry resting his hand on Meghan’s head as she lay in his lap underneath a tree.

The news came just months after Meghan revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage in an article for the New York Times.

The Duchess of Sussex said in her article last year that she lost her baby after feeling a ‘sharp cramp’ while changing her son Archie’s nappy in July 2020.

Meghan revealed she fell ill at home in Los Angeles before going to hospital, describing herself tearfully watching her husband Prince Harry’s ‘heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine’ while grieving for their unborn baby.

She wrote in the New York Times: ‘After changing his [Archie’s] diaper, I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor with him in my arms, humming a lullaby to keep us both calm, the cheerful tune a stark contrast to my sense that something was not right.’

In the piece called ‘The Losses We Share’, she said: ‘I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second. Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears.

‘Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal. Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.’

Meghan said she wrote the article about her own loss to encourage others to talk about it.

It is not known how pregnant Meghan was, but most women suffer miscarriages in the first 12 weeks.

Buckingham Palace is understood to have known about the tragedy for several months while The Daily Beast claims royal officials were also briefed about the New York Times article in advance.

A spokesman for the Queen declined to comment at the time calling it a ‘deeply personal matter’.

For support & information for those affected by miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy call 01924 200799 or visit miscarriageassociation.org.uk

WHAT ARE MISCARRIAGES AND WHY DO THEY HAPPEN?

A miscarriage is when an unborn baby dies in the womb.

Miscarriages are known to be common but it’s hard to know exactly how often they occur, because they can happen before the mother even realises she is pregnant.

The NHS suggests one in every eight known pregnancies ends in miscarriage, while the charity Tommy’s estimates that a quarter of all pregnancies – whether known about or not – end in miscarriage.

Tommy’s estimates that there are around 250,000 miscarriages every year in the UK, which could mean there are around 1.2million a year in the US.

Most commonly, miscarriages happen during the first trimester – the first three months of the pregnancy. This is called an ‘early miscarriage’. The risk falls considerably in later stages of pregnancy.

Causes behind babies dying before they are born are often never uncovered, and usually cannot be prevented. It is rarely the mother’s fault that it happens, although they can be linked to smoking, drinking and using drugs.

Early miscarriages are most often caused by random genetic errors in the foetus that stop it from developing properly.

If a baby gets the wrong amount of DNA, for example, or it develops defects while cells are multiplying, it can stop its body from developing properly and ultimately end in its death.

Problems with how the placenta functions can also contribute to miscarriage. The placenta is an organ that transports nutrients from the mother’s body into the baby’s via the umbilical cord.

Miscarriages also become more likely with age.

According to the NHS, a woman in her late 30s has a two in 20 chance of suffering a miscarriage – Meghan Markle is 39.

The risk is slightly higher than for women under 30, who face a one in 10 chance, but lower than for someone over 45, for whom around half of pregnancies fail.

Causes of later-term miscarriages that happen after 14 weeks, or recurrent miscarriage in which women have them repeatedly, can be easier to pin down.

Genetic abnormalities in the mother or father can cause this, as well as a weak cervix or abnormally shaped uterus.

One-off infections may lead to miscarriage, as well as conditions that make the blood more likely to clot, such as thrombophilia or antiphospholipid syndrome.

Long-term health conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome raise the risk, too, as well as illnesses not directly linked to the reproductive system such as diabetes, high blood pressure, lupus, kidney disease or thyroid problems.

Sources: NHS and Tommy’s

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