Netflix
Meghan Markle has offered fans rare insight into the beginning of her romance with Prince Harry, including who professed their love first in the Season 2 premiere of her series, “With Love, Meghan.”
The second season of the beloved Netflix show, which the Duchess of Sussex, 44, filmed at a rented $9.5 million Montecito mansion because she refused to show viewers what was behind the doors of her own home, hit screens on Tuesday and quickly garnered a slew of reactions from fans.
Viewers were shocked to hear the duchess peel back the layers of her romance with Prince Harry, 40, and reveal who was the first to utter “I love you.”
When guest Tan France asked Meghan who said “I love you first,” Meghan noted that “he told” her.
“She’s still got it,” the “Suits” actress joked.
(Netflix)
(Netflix)
The TV star admitted that she knew she had fallen for Prince Harry during their third date while they were camping in Botswana.
“You really get to know somebody when you’re in a little tent together and there’s like, ‘What is that outside the tent?’” she recalled. “‘That’s an elephant.’ ‘Are we gonna be safe?’ ‘Yeah, you’re safe.’ ‘OK.’”
Meghan also shed some light on the night Prince Harry got down on one knee and asked her to marry him, admitting that the night began “terribly.”
“I was still having a lot of challenges with the conversion of Celsius and Fahrenheit. I made a horrible chicken that night.
“So the point is, you can make a terrible chicken and someone is still going to appreciate the thought,” she explained.
Further in the season, Meghan shared other details about her romance with Prince Harry, who didn’t appear on the show like he did during the first season.
She revealed that they served fried chicken and “late-night bites” after their 2018 wedding. The following year, they celebrated their first anniversary in a “beautiful little old chapel.”
After saying “I do” in 2018, the couple welcomed Prince Archie, 6, in 2019, and Princess Lilibet, 4, in 2021.
(Instagram/Meghan)
(Netflix)
Much like the first season of her show, the second run of episodes saw Meghan welcoming a host of high-profile guests into the dwelling, including Chrissy Teigen, pilates guru Heather Durak, and famed chef José Andrés.
Other guests included Christina Tosi, Clare Smyth, Daniel Martin, David Chang, Jamie Kern Lima, Jay Shetty, Radhi Devlukia, and Samin Nosrat.
The details about the beginning of her romance with Prince Harry come after it was revealed that Meghan rented a California dwelling for the hit TV series.
The second season of “With Love, Meghan” was announced with a trailer revealing that the mother of two once again opted not to use her $14.7 million Montecito home as the primary filming location.
Meghan premiered her lifestyle show with the streaming giant on March 4, with a description issued by Netflix promising viewers an “at home”-style experience with the former actress.
So eyebrows were understandably raised when it was revealed that Meghan had not, in fact, filmed the series at her own home, but had instead chosen to return to a nearby $9.5 million property that was rented out for use as a set during the first season.
The four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom property is owned by philanthropists Tom and Sherrie Cipolla, who purchased the dwelling for $4.7 million in 2017, according to records. Realtor.com® estimates reveal that it is now worth upward of $9.5 million.
(Netflix)
(Netflix)
After filming the first season of her show in the home, Meghan revealed her reasons for refusing to allow the Montecito mansion she shares with Prince Harry to be used as the primary set—explaining that she felt a strong desire to maintain it as a “safe haven” for her family.
“I wanted to protect that safe haven,” she told People. “We’re a close-knit family, and I love those moments—putting Lili down for a nap, having lunch together, having sacred time together at the end of the day.
“Our kitchen is where Mama just cooks for the family, and with a crew of 80-plus people, that’s a lot of people to have in your house!”
Fortunately, Netflix producers managed to find a property just a few miles away that served as the perfect backdrop for a luxury lifestyle show.
Nestled on a 5-acre plot of land, the main farmhouse boasts a chic and elegant decor worthy of a Nancy Meyers movie—or a Meghan Markle docuseries—and features an open floor plan and ample windows that flood the home with light.
An additional barn on the property provides another filming location, while the picturesque grounds—which are filled with lemon and avocado trees—served as a picture-perfect backdrop for Meghan’s latest project.
It is not the first time that Meghan has borrowed another home to film an “at-home”-style Netflix show. When she and Harry filmed their controversial 2022 documentary, aptly titled “Meghan & Harry,” the couple did so in a $30 million estate not far from their own house.
That property—which boasts six bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, and a 2-acre plot—is currently on the market, having been used by the Sussexes only briefly while they were filming their interviews for the dramatic series.