Wendell Pierce Gave Meghan Markle This Warning Before Starting Her Royal Life

Famous for his work on The Wire, Wendell Pierce cautioned Meghan Markle before she entered the royal family. Pierce and Markle collaborated on the TV show Suits from 2011 to 2019. In an April 2024 interview with E! News, he talked about the emotional last day of filming with Markle. Pierce disclosed that he warned, "'Meghan, your life is going to be a whirlwind. You're going to be in this bubble.'"

Pierce who played the role of Markle's father on the show, also assured her that she would always have his support. He allegedly said, “‘I just want you to remember that no matter what happens, you always have friends. And I hope you count me in that number,’” as per HuffPost. The discussion took place just before Markle left the show in 2017 to concentrate on her royal responsibilities, which coincided with her engagement to Prince Harry. But Markle's life as a royal wasn't without its challenges. At one point, she even said, "I just didn’t want to be alive anymore," which eventually made them step down in 2020 from their royal roles and move to Los Angeles, Markle's hometown.

Having left the royal life behind, in 2021, they opened up about their struggles in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. In 2022, their Netflix documentary offered further insights into Markle's rocky relationship with members of the royal family. Harry's memoir, Spare also delved into the alleged racism Markle was subjected to. Pierce said, "I'm so grateful that I was able to express that to her before the whirlwind engagement...and becoming the Duchess." Pierce also shared some fond memories of working with Markle, deeming their time together as "a blast." 

Pierce opined that it was appropriate that Rachel Adam marries Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) in the season seven finale before moving to Seattle to establish their law firm, given that Markle married Harry in real life. Pierce did not attend the 2018 royal wedding, but at the 2024 Tony Awards in New York City, he spoke about meeting Harry for the first time. At the time, he shared that the Duke and the Duchess appeared to be "very much in love and very happy."

Markle, in 2017, following the announcement of Harry's proposal, stated in an interview with BBC, “I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change. It’s a new chapter, right?” She added, “I’ve ticked this box, and I feel very proud of the work I’ve done there, and now it’s time to work with [Harry] as a team.” Even though Markle moved on from Suits, the program has experienced a resurgence in popularity, garnering over 45 billion minutes of streaming time across Peacock and Netflix combined.