BREAKING NEWS: Harry speaks about how he dealt with Meghan feeling suicidal and the importance of saying ‘you’re not alone’ as he reunites with Oprah for town hall episode reflecting on their 5-part Apple TV series on mental health
- Prince Harry and Oprah reunited for a town hall episode following the conclusion of their Apple+ TV series on mental health
- The Prince told the talk show queen that he now feels better equipped to discuss suicide
- Earlier in the series he felt ‘ashamed’ that he didn’t know how to deal with Meghan Markle’s suicide confession
- He told Oprah in the bonus episode – released on Thursday – that he now knows the best thing a person can do is to tell a suicidal person that ‘you are not alone’
Prince Harry has spoken candidly about suicide during a bonus episode of his Apple+ TV series, The Me You Can’t See, which was released on Thursday night.
Speaking with Oprah during a town-hall episode of the mental health docuseries, the Prince stated that he now feels more confident with how to respond to someone who tells him they are thinking about ending their own life.
‘So many people are afraid of being on the receiving end of that conversation because they don’t feel like they have the right tools to give the right advice,’ Harry stated.
‘But what you [want] to say is “You’re there”. Listen, because listening and being part of that conversation is without doubt the best first step that you can take.’
Harry and Oprah agreed that telling a suicidal person that ‘You are not alone’ is the best piece of advice they learned during the course of filming their series.
It comes after Harry stated in an earlier episode of The Me You Can’t See that he did not know how to respond to his wife, Meghan Markle, when she told him that she was feeling suicidal.
The Duchess confessed to Harry that she wanted to kill herself shortly before an engagement at Royal Albert Hall in January 2019.
‘I’m somewhat ashamed of the way that I dealt with it,’ Harry revealed.
‘And of course, because of the system that we were in and the responsibilities and the duties that we had, we had a quick cuddle and then we had to get changed to jump in a convoy with a police escort and drive to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event. Then step out into a wall of cameras and pretend as though everything’s okay.’
Prince Harry has spoken candidly about how he dealt with learning Meghan Markle was feeling suicidal during a new episode of his Apple+ TV series
Harry and Meghan are pictured on January 16, 2019 – the night she told him she was suicidal
In the series, people from around the world discussed their experiences battling issues of depression, trauma, anxiety, and mental illness, and included famous faces like Lady Gaga, Glenn Close, and NBA star DeMar DeRozan.
During the series, Harry said therapy helped him ‘break the cycle.’
‘For me, therapy has equipped me to be able to take on anything,’ he said.
‘I knew if I didn’t do the therapy and fix myself I would lose this woman I could see spending the rest of my life [with].’
He says his family tried to prevent him and Meghan from leaving when she was suicidal and admits to drinking and doing drugs in his 30s.
‘Eventually when I made that decision for my family, I was still told, “You can’t do this,” Harry told Oprah.
‘And it’s like, “Well how bad does it have to get until I am allowed to do this?”
‘She [Markle] was going to end her life. It shouldn’t have to get to that.’
When asked if he has any regrets, he says it is not taking a stand earlier in his relationship with Markle.