Meghan Markle Turns Off Instagram Comments — and Here’s Why It Matters

Mar. 15, 2025

Her Instagram return marks the first time Meghan has been autonomously on social media since she shut her personal Instagram account down in January 2018 ahead of her royal wedding to Harry that May. Though she and Harry, 40, were represented on two royal social media accounts — @KensingtonRoyal, an account they shared withPrince WilliamandKate Middleton, and @SussexRoyal, their account that they stepped away from in March 2020 — and Meghan’s lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard,has its own Instagram page, it will be the first time in seven years since Meghan has run her own social media. And she is looking to protect her peace in doing so.

During an October 2020 appearance on theTeenager Therapypodcast, Meghan spoke about being the “most trolled person in the entire world” the year prior.

“I don’t care if you’re 15 or you’re 25, if people are saying things about you that aren’t true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging,” she said, adding later in the episode “we all know what it feels like to have our feelings hurt.”

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends the “Keynote: Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen,” during the SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals at the Austin Convention Center on March 8, 2024, in Austin, Texas.SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP

SUZANNE CORDEIRO / AFP

In an episode of the 2022 Netflix docuseriesHarry & Meghan, Meghan opened up through tears about howthreats against her on social mediaaffected her life: “I think for people to really understand, you know, when you plant a seed that is so hateful, what it can grow into,” she said.

“Just a couple of days ago, I was going through the manual for our security team at home, and on one of the pages that I happened to flip to, it was about online monitoring,” she added. “And they’re like, ‘If you see a tweet like this, please report it to the head of security immediately.’ And it just said: ‘Meghan just needs to die. Someone needs to kill her. Maybe it should be me.’ ”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive on the long Walk at Windsor Castle arrive to view flowers and tributes to HM Queen Elizabeth on Sept. 10, 2022 in Windsor, England.Chris Jackson/Getty

Chris Jackson/Getty

“And I was just like, ‘Okay.’ That’s, like, what’s actually out in the world because of people creating hate,” she continued. “I’m a mom. That’s my real life. And that’s the piece when you see it and you go, ‘You are making people want to kill me. It’s not just a tabloid. It’s not just some story. You are making me scared.’ Right?”

“That night, to be up and down in the middle of the night, looking down my hallway, like, ‘Are we safe? Are the doors locked? Is security on?’ Is every — that’s real. ‘Are my babies safe?’ And you’ve created it for what? Because you’re bored or because it sells your papers or it makes you feel better about your own life? It’s real what you’re doing. And that’s the piece I don’t think people fully understand.”

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attends the “Keynote: Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen,” during the SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals on March 8, 2024, in Austin, Texas.SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty

SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP/Getty

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave after a service of thanksgiving for the reign of Queen Elizabeth II at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, Friday, June 3, 2022 on the second of four days of celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee.Matt Dunham - WPA Pool/Getty

Speaking atFortune’s Most Powerful Women virtual summitthe year prior, Meghan spoke about what it would take to create humane tech, saying, “It’s like we live in the future when you’re talking about bots and trolls and all of these things. It seems so fantastical, but that’s actually the current state of affairs and that is shaping how we interact with each other online and off — and that’s the piece that’s important. It is not just an isolated experience. It transcends into how you interact with anyone around you, and certainly your own relationship with yourself.”

She added of misinformation about her specifically, “If you look back at anything I’ve said, what ends up being inflammatory is people’s interpretation of it. But if you listen to what I actually say, it’s not controversial.”

“When you look at what these platforms are capable of with that reach, and what that propels in terms of trolling … You can either train people to be cruel, or you can train people to be kind. It’s really that simple,” Meghan continued.

Meghan Markle addresses the audience during the “Afro women and power” forum, at the Municipal Theatre in Cali, Colombia, on Aug. 18, 2024.RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty

RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty

“My intentionality is to enjoy this chapter and to be able to move through every piece of that as best as I can,” Meghan said while in the South American country.

One of the cornerstones of Harry and Meghan’s work with their nonprofit The Archewell Foundation is creating a safer digital world, and Meghan told Jane Pauley for an episode ofCBS Sunday Morningin August, “So as we can see what’s happening in the online space, we know that there’s a lot of work to be done there, and we’re just happy to be able to be a part ofchange for good.”

Meghan Markle in September 2023 in Dusseldorf, Germany.Getty Images

Getty Images

“Now you have to ‘like’ it or say something negative,” she continued. “It is just adding to this really unfortunate cycle that I think is having an unfortunate effect on women across the world.”

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source: people.com