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Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s New Interview Just Aired: An Emotional Ride
Trigger Warning: This content includes reference to suicide.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are no strangers to the dangers of online harassment. In a heart-wrenching interview with Jane Pauley on CBS News Sunday Morning, the couple underscored the severity of this modern epidemic.
They announced the official launch of a program called The Parents’ Network, in association with their charitable Archewell Foundation. This initiative aims to create a support network for parents and caregivers whose lives have been gravely impacted by the harms of social media.
Markle drew on her own fraught history with suicidal ideation to help others through this new venture. In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she revealed, “Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time, and ashamed to admit it to Harry, especially, because I know how much loss he suffered. But I knew that if I didn’t say it, that I would do it … and I just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
In today’s interview, Markle shared that this personal experience connected her to families who lost a child to social media. Most families think the unthinkable is just that—unthinkable. But the charter members of The Parents’ Network have learned how, with the blink of an eye, this can change. Two of those members are the Dawleys, a couple who lost their 17-year-old son, C.J., to suicide, which they believe was fueled by depression linked to social media use. “We had no idea what happened to our son,” Mrs. Dawley told CBS News Sunday Morning.
“I think you have to start somewhere,” Markle expressed. “I think the simplest thing that anyone watching this or anyone who’s able to make change can do is look at it through the lens of, ‘What if it was my daughter? What if it was my son? My son or my daughter who comes home, who are joyful, who I love, and one day, right under my roof, our entire lives change because of something that was completely out of our control?’ And if you look at it through the lens of a parent, there is no way to see it any other way than to try to find a solution.”
The Parents’ Network will operate primarily online, offering solace and support for families in grief. The goal is to turn pain into purpose, as Harry has previously stated.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Source: CBS News Sunday Morning
