Finding Freedom

by Omid Scobie

  At Wimbledon, however, Meghan was serious while watching Serena battle it out against Amra Sadikovic. She was the first to pump her fist when her friend scored a point or stand to cheer when the tennis champ won a set. She hadn’t known much about tennis before becoming friendly with Serena, but now she was a fan.

  Meghan did tear herself away from the action long enough to spot British actor Dominic Cooper in the VIP bar area, where she joked about having a small crush on the Preacher star and deliberated whether she should talk to him. She decided not to approach this nice English gentleman. She was too busy having fun with her girlfriends.

  Violet wasn’t the only one setting up meetings for Meghan in London. A few months before she arrived in town, Jonathan Shalit—who has helped carve out television careers for Simon Cowell, Mel B, and other British household names—signed Meghan to his talent agency, Roar. The hope was for Meghan to enter a new space, perhaps hosting a food-centric TV show.

  Jonathan’s interest in the American actress for some kind of food, travel, and culture show stemmed from The Tig, which was exactly the kind of future Meghan hoped would blossom out of her website.

  “There is a vision, and it’s a big one,” Meghan said about The Tig, which she dreamed about spinning into a cookbook or a lifestyle brand. “The opportunities are endless.”

  While the actress-turned-lifestyle-guru Gwyneth Paltrow, who turned her website Goop into a $250 million empire, was an obvious source of inspiration in marketing herself, Meghan had another one far closer to home in Jessica Mulroney—Canada’s most prominent lifestyle influencer and a very close friend.

  Jessica and her husband, Ben—the eldest son of the former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney and the host of the entertainment show eTalk—were the city’s hottest young power couple. She parlayed the brand-name Canadian family she married into and her sense of style into a boutique career as an influencer, stylist, and wedding planner. Her Instagram feed was filled with pictures of domestic perfection—like Jessica with her long, blown-out brown hair, her blue eyes fringed in black lashes, reading a book on the floor with her adorable twin sons, Brian and John, her lean legs crossed and on her feet a pair of sky-high black stilettos.

  After the women were introduced by a local fashion publicist, Jessica not only encouraged Meghan to follow the same path but also introduced her to an exciting, fizzy social scene filled with high-profile charity events, the openings of new hotspots, fabulous restaurants, and fancy friends like Michael Bublé. Jessica and Ben were good friends with the Canadian singer-songwriter and his wife, the Argentinian-born actress-model Luisana Lopilato, whose intimate parties at their home in Vancouver were a coveted invite. When Meghan snagged a seat at his dinner table in November 2015, it provided fodder for a blog post of the singer’s favorite holiday songs titled, “Tig Tunes with Michael Bublé.”

  By 2016, The Tig and her Instagram account had gained a big enough following that she felt in a position to think about opportunities outside of Suits. Eager for a change, she had signed to a literary agency in the United States and was in talks to release a food-focused book to capitalize on her new platform. While Meghan was in London, Jonathan, in his uniform of black vest, white shirt, striped tie, and brightly colored socks, pitched a show where she would travel the world, discovering new foods with a focus on sustainability. Think Padma Lakshmi meets Anthony Bourdain.

  Jonathan wasn’t the only well-known industry type Meghan networked with while in England’s capital. She also met up with Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan at his local pub in Kensington, the Scarsdale Tavern. “I’m in London for a week of meetings and Wimbledon,” Meghan had quietly direct messaged via Twitter to Piers after she arrived in the British capital. “Would love to say hi!” They had never met before, but she was keen to know the controversial and outspoken personality behind the outrageous tweets about Donald Trump, who he became frenemies with on the NBC reality series Celebrity Apprentice.

  Meghan showed up to the cozy, dark pub looking “every inch the Hollywood superstar,” Piers described in the Daily Mail, “very slim, very leggy, very elegant, and impossibly glamorous. She was even wearing the obligatory big black shades beloved of LA thespians.”

  During their two-hour drinks, Meghan sipped dirty martinis while the two discussed gun control, her career, her childhood dreams of becoming either president of the United States or a TV journalist, and her biracial upbringing. Piers was charmed.

  Just before eight o’clock, Meghan bade Piers farewell, as she had to run to her dinner date at 5 Hertford Street with Misan Harriman, whose father, Chief Hope Harriman, was one of the founding fathers of modern Nigeria. Misan—the founder of the website whatweseee.com and the director of the global network of polo games called British Polo Day—could often be found at polo matches alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton.

  Misan invited Meghan to the members-only club-restaurant in Mayfair, which was said to be one of the most prestigious clubs in the world. Members who have made their way through the unmarked maroon door on Hertford Street to dine by candlelight in the private rooms with silver service included George and Amal Clooney, Mick Jagger, and Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie. While Meghan might have enjoyed sipping gin fizzes under the club’s hushed lighting, what she really looked forward to was a blind date she had planned for the following evening.

  It was summer, and she was newly single. Although her two-year relationship (her first serious one since her divorce three years earlier) had only recently ended, Meghan still very much believed in finding lasting love. During her visit to London, however, Meghan joked to a pal that she’d settle for “a nice English gentleman to flirt with.”

  Except this date was with no ordinary guy. Over lunch on July 1, Meghan revealed the mystery man’s identity to her London-based agent Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne. Gina and Meghan, who first met at the 2014 One Young World Summit, had traveled to numerous overseas jobs together and even took a side vacation during a work trip to Malta in March 2015. So the actress felt she could confide in the agent as a friend.

  “I’m going on a blind date tonight,” Meghan said coyly, after finishing off her salad at the Delaunay restaurant, near London’s Covent Garden.

  “Who is it?” Gina asked. “Do I know him?”

  Meghan leaned in excitedly and whispered, “I’m sure you know him. It’s Prince Harry.”

  Floored by the news, Gina asked her friend in a hushed tone, “Do you know what you’re letting yourself in for?”

  “Well, it’s going to be an experience,” Meghan said, “and at least it will be a fun night.”

  “This could be crazy,” Gina said, trying to impress upon the American the insane and unique culture of tabloid coverage in the UK that came with dating a royal. “You will be the most wanted woman.”

  Meghan wasn’t thinking that far ahead of herself, particularly since the woman who had set her up with the prince said, “Let’s just get you in a room together and see what happens.”

  Despite reports that Violet von Westenholz had set up the date, it was mostly Meghan’s pals Misha Nonoo and Markus Anderson who were in on the first meeting. (The couple themselves prefer to keep the story of their matchmaker a mystery, even to close friends. Meghan’s only clue to pals at the time was that her first encounter with Harry was “serendipitous.”)

  Markus, a Canadian native and Soho House’s global membership director, always made sure Meghan was comfortable at the Toronto outpost of the private members-only club with locations all over the world. Behind the velvet roped-off doorway of the nineteenth-century Georgian building that the club spent $8 million to renovate into an exclusive oasis, Meghan, who would have her own booth reserved on the third floor when she went there for drinks, spent many an afternoon curled up on one of the library’s leather club chairs with her MacBook, working away on her blog, or hanging out with her Suits castmates.

  Markus provided Meghan with introductions to many business and cultural elite
s—both in Canada and beyond. At a Soho House lunch in Miami, he was the one who sat the actress next to Misha, a budding fashion designer with a vivacious personality and impeccable pedigree. The occasion for the December 2014 Miami trip was Art Basel, a decadent art fair that brings the internationally rich and famous for a week of parties and events of all sorts and sizes. Markus invited Meghan, an art lover, to stay at the epicenter of the action, Soho Beach House, to get some sun, see some art, and have some fun.

  A perfect place to make new friends and connections, the Soho House event saw Misha and Meghan hit it off immediately. Born in Bahrain but raised in England, the sunny blond designer, who split her time between New York and London, attended business school in Paris before entering the world of fashion. Her handsome and well-connected husband, Alexander Gilkes, was named to Art + Auction’s 100 Most Powerful People in the Art World list after founding Paddle8, an online auction house. An old Etonian pal of Prince William’s and Prince Harry’s, Alexander met Misha when she was seventeen, and they were married seven years later in Venice with no less than Lana Del Rey performing at their 2012 vows.

  Meghan was instantly intrigued by Misha’s effortless glamour, and Misha felt similarly about the actress’s fresh-faced interest. “She’s an impressive woman and so much fun to be around,” said Misha.

  Before lunch was over, the women exchanged information and tagged each other in photos on Instagram.

  The smart and pretty fashion designer spoke about new business opportunities to Meghan, who was eager to expand her social and professional horizons. Meghan loved hanging out with Misha, described by a friend as “one of those undercover, cool, rich aristocratic girls.” Anytime that she was in New York, she would stay at Misha’s West Village duplex, where the designer and her husband constantly entertained a revolving group of interesting people.

  The friendship wasn’t one-sided, though. When Misha was named a finalist of the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards during New York Fashion Week in November 2015, Meghan made a huge splash on the red carpet when she wore one of her friend’s designs to the awards dinner. The image of Meghan posing in the silver liquid-metal mini dress with a deep plunging neckline was everywhere the next day—a great push for Misha’s burgeoning fashion line.

  When the two women first met, Meghan was in a serious relationship, even though she was coming off a divorce only a year and a half earlier.

  Meghan had been twenty-three years old when she fell for her first husband, Trevor Engelson, a brash, up-and-coming young producer whom The Hollywood Reporter named to its Top 35 Under 35 list in 2009. The pair dated for seven years before the thirty-year-old Meghan and thirty-four-year-old Trevor tied the knot September 10, 2011, in a romantic beachside ceremony in Jamaica.

  While they were still dating, Meghan wondered aloud to her closest friends why Trevor didn’t always act as if he supported her acting career. After all, he had plenty of connections in the industry. She felt that he liked her being dependent on him. That was the dynamic of their relationship; Trevor was the dominant character. “He was used to being the breadwinner, the one Meghan needed for introductions in the industry,” said a friend of their early courtship. But their marriage coincided with her landing a starring role on a hit cable drama. Just months after Trevor proposed to Meghan while on vacation in Belize in 2010, she got the part on Suits. “Suddenly the dynamic was changing,” the friend continued, “and he didn’t like that.”

  Meghan living in Toronto for the greater part of the year accelerated the decline of their relationship. At first, they made every effort to spend time together. As the months went by, however, the visits became less frequent. When Trevor was invited to the Oscars in February 2013, he didn’t bring Meghan to the awards show. He explained that he had only one ticket, but Meghan wondered if he didn’t want to share the spotlight. Six months later, the couple, who had appeared deliriously in love on a Jamaican beach just twenty-three months earlier, were divorced. But Meghan never lost faith that she’d find the one—even if the first time she decided who he was, she’d been wrong.

  When the actress decided to give love another chance, it came in the form of Toronto’s number one bachelor, Cory Vitiello, who the magazine Toronto Life described as, “known as much for his kitchen skills as for appearing on most-eligible lists.” The native of Brantford, Ontario, with the chiseled features always had a different beautiful woman on his arm. Having started his own catering business out of his family home when he was just fifteen, Cory was the owner of one of Meghan’s favorite restaurants, the Harbord Room, where the two first met in June 2014. Shortly after, Meghan wrote in The Tig about his eatery—and him. “The small-town charm and moral compass of someone who doesn’t come from the big city, but dreams big thoughts and makes them happen,” she wrote, “that makes his food so approachable yet inspired.”

  At first, she was attracted to Cory’s good looks, but soon she was drawn to his sensitivity, kind demeanor, and entrepreneurial skills. And, of course, food was a huge connection. Although Meghan was already an avid cook and passionate foodie before meeting Cory, he “opened up her eyes to food on a whole different level,” according to a friend. By the end of the summer, she and Cory were a confirmed couple, and within a month of their dating, Meghan told friends she was falling in love. “She’s careful but does fall quickly when she likes someone,” a friend said. “It’s the old romantic in her.”

  From the time she was in high school, through college, and post-divorce, Meghan was never interested in casual dating. She was always looking for commitment. Things with Cory were no different; she wanted to be in a healthy relationship, get married, and eventually have children. Cory’s family, with whom she spent Christmas 2015, couldn’t have been happier. The whole clan was fond of Meghan, including Cory’s mom, Joanne, and they were convinced the pair would soon be engaged.

  In reality, though, her relationship with Cory had begun to deteriorate. By the start of 2016, Meghan was confessing to friends that she regretted how quickly things had progressed with him. That was already obvious to some of her closest pals by the fact that although she had moved in with the chef, Meghan had held on to her rental home. But it wasn’t until early that May that they officially ended their two-year romance. The problem, according to a source close to the couple, was Cory: he didn’t want to settle down. Meghan broke it off with him without any specific accusations, and he didn’t put up a fight. “It wasn’t a happy time for her,” the source said.

  Sadness, however, quickly evolved into relief for the young actress. So much so that by the time summer arrived, she was looking forward to her travel plans abroad and ready to have fun. And her new friend Misha thought that summer was the perfect time to set her up on a date or two.

  * * *

  Prince Harry seemed like a fun guy, even if he was a member of a royal family steeped in protocol completely foreign to an American like Meghan. From the time he was three years old, photographed sticking out his tongue while in the arms of his mother, Princess Diana, who stood next to the Queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the Trooping the Colour, he established himself as the cheeky one. Poking out his tongue at photographers, something he sometimes did as a child, was a particularly rebellious act, since before William and Harry, royal children were pictured only as perfect, quiet, and in the background.

  His mother did little to dampen his high spirits. When the boys were in boarding school at the Ludgrove School in Berkshire—first William, then Harry—Diana smuggled Starbursts into their socks when she would visit to watch them play soccer. An avid letter writer, she also liked to send them off-color greeting cards. “You can be naughty,” Diana once told Harry. “Just don’t get caught.”

  Harry took that message to heart. More interested in riding or playing sports than in school, he shared his mother’s penchant for humor and mischief. Once while playing with his mother’s personal protection officer Ken Wharfe, he got past security, snuck out of the palac
e gates, and radioed Ken on the walkie-talkies.

  “Where are you?” Ken said over the radio when neither he nor the palace guards could find Harry.

  “I’m outside Tower Records,” Harry radioed back to Ken, who ran as fast as he could to Kensington High Street, a half mile away, where he found the small royal in his tiny camouflaged army uniform.

  Diana might have forgiven Harry’s indifference to the rules in part because the rules of their royal lineage dictated that his brother, William, had a more important title than he did. By the age of four, he was aware of their destinies as “heir and spare.” Knowing this, their mother regularly emphasized how she loved her sons equally. Equality was a constant theme in their family unit, because outside of it, that was not the case.

  By the time the boys got older, the difference in their positions was clearer. William would have solo meetings with the Queen to learn about his future role, but Harry never did. Diana had tried to imbue in her younger son that he should never let anyone make him feel that he wasn’t special just because he would never be king. If anything, she reasoned, he was lucky, because Harry had the opportunity to find his purpose. Titles are both boon and burden.

  Not surprisingly, he grew up into a young man most at ease around close friends and people not overly impressed with his royalty. Not one for pomp and circumstance, he never liked certain “stuffy” engagements, like state banquets at Buckingham Palace, or the overly formal attire they sometimes required. To this day, Harry doesn’t like wearing a tie. He once confessed to the authors of this book, “We need to liven these things up, make them more fun and interesting.”

  Part of the reason he fell hard for his first serious girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, was that she loved adventure as much as he did, and she was not overly impressed with his royal pedigree. While he was on his gap year in 2004 after graduating high school, Harry met the smart, lively blonde, who was born in Zimbabwe to Charles Davy, a wealthy landowner and safari operator, and Beverley Donald Davy, a former Miss Rhodesia. Chelsy was just as comfortable riding horses bareback and enjoying the African plains as she was attending high-society events in London. For seven years she and Harry shared a complicated but undoubtedly passionate history. Chelsy was fun-loving but also devoted. Her genuine love for her boyfriend regardless of pedigree was one of the qualities that endeared Chelsy to both Harry and the royal family. Discreet and loyal, she was by Harry’s side for all the important moments of his young life, like his 2006 graduation from Britain’s elite Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, the 2007 Concert for Diana, and his brother’s wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011. Ultimately, though, the constant public scrutiny of her private life proved too much for Chelsy to bear.