Meghan Markle's close friend says it's a "relief" to see her open up about "what's been happening"
Meghan Markle's longtime friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin told "CBS This Morning" that it's been "tough" watching her deal with the intense scrutiny from the British tabloids. But he says he's relieved that she is finally opening up about "what's been happening." In an emotional new documentary from ITV, the Duchess of Sussex admits that things have not been easy.
"To be honest, it's been tough. I feel like this is now — watching this documentary, it's been almost a relief seeing her at a point where she can be honest about what's been happening. I feel like all of us who have known, we just didn't know what to do or how to help," Martin said. "But I feel like just putting this out there, just letting [people] know, it's been challenging, it's demystified a lot that's going on over there."
In the documentary, "Harry and Meghan: An African Journey," ITV anchor Tom Bradby traces the royal couple's recent tour of Africa and offers an intimate look at what goes on behind the scenes. At one point Bradby asks Markle if it "would be fair" to say she's "not really OK, as in it's really been a struggle?" to which she replies, "Yes."
Tina Brown, who has covered the British royal family for years, said that while Meghan's vulnerability might play well in the U.S., the British tabloid media is quite different.
"You have to recognize that the tabloids are really, you know, staffed and written by middle-aged kind of white guys. And they are ruthless about, you know, any blood in the water that they see. You know, vulnerability means they're going to go for it," Brown said.
Still, both Martin and Brown are certain she'll make it through this trying time — which includes new motherhood — just fine.
"I know her, she's going to totally take care of this," Martin said. "It's just understanding the ways around it."
Martin, who was with Meghan on her wedding day, pointed to a video that mashes up video of the duchess paired with Maya Angelou reading her iconic poem "And Still I Rise."
"It's this beautiful mash-up that started circulating. It really got a lot of people thinking, wow, she can come up from this, and I think just making that acknowledgment helped open the world and understand what she's been going through."