Meghan Markle’s close friends have praised the royal as a ‘low maintenance’ mother who can whip up her own baby food – while defending the 37-year-old against what they say is a slew of ‘undeserved negative press’.
In an emotional interview with CBS This Morning anchor Gayle King, Daniel Martin – Meghan’s makeup artist of many years – and actress Janina Gavankar – a long-time friend of the duchess – each shared glowing anecdotes about the new mother, while insisting that any reports of a diva attitude are untrue, and unfair.
New Yorker Daniel, who did Meghan’s makeup on her wedding day and also attended her extravagant Manhattan baby shower, actually broke down in tears while speaking to Gayle, 64, about all of the negative attention that the royal has faced.
Emotional: Meghan Markle’s longtime friend and makeup artist broke down in tears while defending the Duchess of Sussex against ‘underserved negative press’ in a new CBS special
Upset: Daniel Martin, who did the 37-year-old’s makeup for her wedding, spoke to Gayle King about Meghan and motherhood, admitting he thinks she will ‘make her own baby food’
‘You hear these stories and there’s no truth to them,’ he said, tearing up. ‘I know her so well, and I know she doesn’t deserve all this negative press.’
The makeup artist went on to share how wonderful a mother he thinks the duchess – who is still just ‘Meghan to me’ – will be, saying: ‘There’s just going to be so much love for that baby.’
He added that the royal will be an incredibly hands-on mother, sharing that he ‘totally sees her making her own baby food’ because Meghan ‘loves to cook’.
‘Hands on’: Actress Janina Gavankar also spoke about her friend Meghan, saying she is very low maintenance and that she and Harry are one another’s ‘soulmates’
Daniel was full of similar praise for Prince Harry, and shared a sweet anecdote about the new dad from behind-the-scenes at the royal wedding.
‘He’s so good with kids. Even when they were doing the family portrait after the wedding with everybody, he was on the floor, just playing with the kids,’ the beauty pro recalled. ‘And that’s when I knew, I was like, he’s going to be the coolest dad.
Daniel’s emotional outpouring is featured in a new hotly-touted CBS special on the royal couple, entitled Meghan and Harry Plus One, which is thought to have been masterminded by Gayle, who has become a close friend of the couple’s in the past year.
The TV anchor, who was likely first introduced to Harry and Meghan by her best friend Oprah, revealed earlier this month that she had flown to Windsor just hours before the couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Archie.
At the same time it was revealed that CBS was the only US network to be given camera access at the press conference where Harry and Meghan introduced their son to the world days after his birth.
Poignant: The Vampire Diaries star Janina, 38, said that she and Meghan have been talking about the royal becoming a mother ‘for ten years’
Close bond: Janina, pictured with Meghan in an old social media snap, said of the couple’s royal baby, ‘To have the royal family bring a child of color into the world, it’s pretty awesome’
Star guest: Actress Jessica Alba, 38, also appears in the special, although it is unclear whether she is friends with Meghan. The pair do share the same makeup artist in Daniel however
It was unclear at the time whether Gayle had sat down with the couple in order to actually film for her royal special – which was heavily touted at the time – however it now seems that she did not speak with Harry and Meghan on camera, despite having a close friendship with the new parents.
Instead sneak peeks from the TV special show Gayle speaking to a couple of Meghan’s friends, as well as a handful of royal and cultural experts. Even filmstar Jessica Alba, another client of beauty pro Daniel’s, sat down to share her thoughts on Harry and Meghan.
‘She is really a beacon of hope for a lot of women out there,’ the 38-year-old is seen telling the camera.
The Vampire Diaries and Sleepy Hollow star Janina, 38, echoed that sentiment, while also praising Meghan – and all that she and Harry represent.
‘To have the royal family bring a child of color into the world, it’s pretty awesome,’ she said. ‘There are still a lot of us who didn’t even grow up with dolls that look like us.’
As for Meghan’s abilities as a mother, Janina says she has no doubt that the former Suits star will be anything but the most stellar and loving parent to her newborn son.
‘Meghan and I have talked about her being a mother for over a decade. She’s always wanted to be a mom,’ she revealed.
‘She’s going to be such a good mother. I think she’ll be very low maintenance. I think that she’ll be very hands on.’
Controversy: Daniel also spoke about Meghan’s lavish New York baby shower, which he attended, saying that it was never meant to be a show of wealth or extravagance
Outrage: Gayle, who also attended the baby shower, reminded Daniel that the event ‘turned into a thing’ and was labeled ‘ostentatious’ and a ‘show off moment’ by the public’
Support: Janina is not thought to have attended the baby shower, however she was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s wedding (seen left arriving at the church)
‘This is a dawn of a new generation,’ Daniel added. ‘Their child is going to represent what the world is now. I don’t know, it’s just relevant.’
Just like Daniel, Janina was also full of praise for Harry, describing the royal as Meghan’s ‘soulmate’ and insisting that the two of them together are ‘very powerful’.
The actress also insisted that, while Meghan’s friends may struggle to read any negative press about their pal, the duchess herself does not ever read anything that is written about her, be it good or bad.
‘She doesn’t read the bad or the good because she knows the metrics you have for your own life cannot be based on a headline,’ she explained.
Some of the more recent negative reports about Meghan came after she attended a lavish baby shower thrown for her in New York by some of her nearest and dearest, including tennis pro Serena Williams, and stylist Jessica Mulroney.
Meghan’s trip to New York, and the celebrations she enjoyed while in the Big Apple, are estimated to have cost close to $500,000 – with the duchess flying via private jet and hosting her party at a $75,000-a-night penthouse in one of the Upper East Side’s most luxurious hotels.
However Daniel – who was one of just a handful of close confidantes to attend the intimate party, alongside Gayle – says that the event was never about a lavish show of wealth, but rather a desire to celebrate Meghan ‘at home’ in New York.
Opinions: Gayle also sat down with a group of black women of all ages to discuss what a biracial royal baby means to them
‘All of us just wanted her home and to celebrate her new baby,’ he tells Gayle, who reminds him that the baby shower ‘turned into a thing’ and was labeled ‘ostentatious’ and a ‘show off moment’ by the public.
Having spoken to a handful of Meghan’s friends, Gayle also turned to a slew of royal and cultural experts who discussed the Duchess of Sussex’s role in the British monarchy, and how she and Harry are helping to bring modernity and diversity to the royal family.
‘The palace system is a bit of a ballbreaker if you like,’ a British woman is seen telling Gayle. ‘You’ve got 400 staff working there, looking down their noses and saying, “Oh no you don’t do it that way.”‘
‘I think that the racist overtones are still there,’ one American woman says of the negative reports about Meghan’s diva-esque attitude. ‘I think that the sexist and misogynist overtones are still there.’
The TV anchor also sat down with a group of black women of all ages in order to get their thoughts about what a biracial royal baby means to them – choosing to host them all for tea at Ladurée in New York, the same spot where Meghan is said to have enjoyed lunch with her close friend Jessica Mulroney ahead of her baby shower.