Meghan Markle Gets Real About Money and the ‘Guilt Mentality Surrounding Having a Lot’

Meghan Markle is talking about a taboo subject: finances.

In the season finale episode of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, which dropped on May 27, the Duchess of Sussex welcomed Sara Blakely, who became a billionaire after creating Spanx.

Blakely, 54, encouraged listeners to become more “self-aware” and ask themselves questions like, “What’s my mindset on money?”

“A lot of people don’t even realize they have not great narratives around success or around obtaining a lot of financial freedom and money for themselves,” she added, saying she wanted to invest in herself.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, replied, “But that is so hard to understand because, I genuinely believe, I would love to adopt that level of a mindset where as you’re talking about even, for a lot of people, not being able to buy into the hope or the promise of something more for themselves in financial freedom.”

“I think so many women, especially, we’re taught to not even talk about money, and there’s lots of guilt mentality surrounding having a lot,” Meghan continued. “And at the same time, there’s a scarcity mindset that it’s easy to attach to, of like, ‘I’ll never have enough.’ ”

Blakely added, “I always tell women, in particular, I say: ‘Money is really fun to make, really fun to spend and really fun to give away.’ I think money makes you more of who you already were.”

Before meeting Prince Harry, Meghan was a working actress, most notably appearing on the first seven seasons of Suits. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were working members of the royal family after their 2019 wedding, but they announced in early 2020 that they intended to step back from their royal roles and “work to become financially independent.”

Speaking with Oprah Winfrey in a tell-all interview the following year, Prince Harry said the royal family “literally cut me off financially” after their step back, adding that he had the money left to him by his late mother, Princess Diana.

“Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to do this,” he said, referring to the family’s move to California, where they bought a home in the Montecito neighborhood.

The couple signed deals with Netflix and Spotify, but Harry said in the same interview that “that was never part of the plan.”

The Duke of Sussex added, “From my perspective, all I needed was enough money to be able to pay for security to keep my family safe.”

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In addition to a solo Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, and her podcast, the Duchess of Sussex launched her lifestyle brand earlier this year, releasing the first products for As ever in March. The batch sold out in under an hour, but PEOPLE understands that they will be restocked soon. She previously hinted that she’s interested in expanding into home goods.

“My heart is very deeply in my home,” Meghan told Fast Company in an interview released on May 27. “Everything comes from being rooted in the love story of your home and garden, and then you can imagine different verticals coming out of that.”

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She also didn’t rule out the possibility of a clothing line in the future.

“The category of fashion is something I will explore at a later date, because I do think that’s an interesting space for me,” Meghan said.