Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stopped watching ‘Real Housewives’ because she had enough ‘drama’ in her own life.
The 41-year-old former actress welcomed Andy Cohen as a guest on the latest episode of her ‘Archetypes’ podcast, ‘Man-ifesting a Cultural Shift’, and she admitted she was a ‘huge fan’ of her talk show “Watch What Happens Live” and that she was upset she never got to be invited while working on “Suits” because she was so obsessed with her Bravo reality franchise at the time .
She said, “I was so excited to be on your show because I was such a ‘Housewives’ fan at the time!”
Andy joked that not having the Duchess on the show was ‘the biggest blunder in the show’s 13 years’, before asking her if she was still a fan of ‘The Real Housewives’, of which he is the executive producer.
Meghan admitted: “Well, I’ll tell you the truth. I stopped watching ‘The Housewives’ when my life reached its own level of drama and I stopped wanting to see [celui des autres].
“I get why it was such a huge part of pop culture. And when it started, because you started with Orange County and I’m from California, at least it remotely felt like a world I knew, but which still seemed so foreign to me.
But I mean, I’d say almost all my friends still watch this show and I’m like, ‘Why are you watching this? There’s so much drama! And that’s because it’s entertainment. It’s entertaining. for them. And it’s also, I think, because it’s familiar because it’s been on the air for so long. You’ve created an empire.”
Andy and Meghan – who was also joined on the show by Trevor Noah and Judd Apatow – then joked regarding rumors the Duchess planned to join the show when she and husband Prince Harry pulled out royal duties and moved to California.
Andy said: “And then what did you think? Because it must have bubbled up for you somewhere, and you moved to the States and everyone was like, oh, she should join the Beverly Hills Housewives. I’m like, she’s not gonna join the Beverly Hills Housewives, everybody.”
Meghan laughs: “I’ve never heard of that!”
Andy continues: “She’s got a busy schedule! It’s Meghan Markle! You never heard that? Good. Well, I didn’t even try to fan the fire because I was like, ‘ Friends, that’s not gonna happen’.”
Meghan then quipped, “You really mean this is my audition for ‘Real Housewives of Montecito’? Is it time?”
But Andy insisted there would be no need for Meghan – who has children Archie, three, and Lili, 17 months, with Harry – to audition.
He added, “We’re going to build the show around you. How regarding that?”
Meghan replied: “There won’t be any reality TV. But I think it’s very funny. No, I’ve never heard of that. I’ve never heard of the Beverly Hills of any of that. ”
The podcaster admitted that she feels “conflicted” with the success of the “Real Housewives” franchise because of the ideas of women it promotes.
She said in a voiceover, “Because as we wrestle this season with what archetypes are and how limiting they are, the flip side is that we’re exploring the possibility of giving women the space and permission to be exactly who they are – complicated, complex, challenging, funny, stupid, etc.
“Or, in a franchise like ‘Housewives’, are we stoking the fire of archetypes by creating caricatures of women.
