Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, says it has been difficult behind the scenes coping with the intense heat of the media spotlight, particularly while pregnant and after giving birth to baby Archie earlier this year.
In a filmed during Prince Harry and Meghan鈥檚 widely praised tour of Africa in late September, she revealed some of her private struggles.
"Not many people have asked if I鈥檓 OK. But it鈥檚 a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes," she said.
When asked if it would be fair to say she was "not really OK, it鈥檚 really been a struggle," Markle responded: "Yes."
Meghan, who married Harry in May 2018 and gave birth to their son this past May, has been under unrelenting -- and often negative -- media and public scrutiny, especially in the U.K., and amid with her estranged father and siblings.
The public backlash included criticism over , godparents, and christening, as well as criticism over making some royal faux pas, the couple鈥檚 informality, and . Even shutting their own car door has made headlines. Earlier this month, Meghan took legal action and sued the Mail on Sunday for publishing a handwritten letter she sent to her father.
"Look, any woman -- especially when they鈥檙e pregnant -- you're really vulnerable and so that was made really challenging, and then when you have a newborn, you know?" she said, when asked what the impact of the pressure has been on her mental and physical health.
"Especially as a woman, it鈥檚 really鈥� it鈥檚 a lot. You add this on top of just trying to be a new mom, or trying to be a newlywed," she said, adding, "And also thank you for asking. Because not many people have asked if I鈥檓 OK."
Meghan鈥檚 comments come after Harry opened up for the same documentary, which is set to air on ITV this Sunday, about the death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997. He called it "a wound that festers."
"I think being part of this family, in this role, in this job, every single time I see a camera, every single time I hear a click, every single time I see a flash, it takes me straight back," he said.
"In that respect, it's the worst reminder of her life as opposed to the best."
Harry was 12 when his mother was killed in a car crash during a paparazzi chase.
Earlier in October, Harry against the tabloid press in which he drew comparisons between the "ruthless" and his mother and said the behaviour was "bullying" and that it "destroys people and destroys lives."
"Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I鈥檝e seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person," he said.
"I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."
