By Geraldine Onyenweaku
It’s not every day that Meghan Markle opens up about the emotional toll of motherhood—but in a recent interview with her friend, Jamie Kern Lima, the Duchess of Sussex hit a nerve that many of us feel but rarely voice.
Meghan spoke candidly about what she calls the “Prove-It Game”—that exhausting cycle women, especially mothers, fall into. We bend over backwards trying to prove we’re good enough, loving enough, strong enough. We kill ourselves to live up to other people’s expectations—expectations often carved in stone by people who barely know us.
Her words hit home. And they should. Because the truth is: You don’t need to prove your worth. Not to anyone.
You were never meant to live according to someone else’s perception of you. As the old saying goes, “I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. If our paths cross, that’s fine.”
It’s time to stop faking it, stop pleasing, and stop performing. Be real. Be you. And most importantly—be happy being you.
Not everyone will like you. And that’s okay. Friendship is a choice, not a virus you catch. So choose wisely. Keep your circle tight. Protect your peace.
Because in the end, the most powerful version of you is the one that no longer needs to prove a thing. Excerpts below.
On April 28, The Jamie Kern Lima Show dropped a new podcast episode featuring the Duchess of Sussex. A promotional clip shared to Instagram showed Meghan, 43, and Jamie, 47, in black sweats with sneakers. Meghan also sported a top stitched with the names of her kids — Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, whom she shares with husband Prince Harry — that she previously debuted on Instagram video.
As she introduced the episode, Kern Lima said one of her favorite spots in her house are in her two rocking chairs, adding that she and Meghan have spent “countless moments in these chairs” chatting.
“Usually when we’re together, we’re in our cozy sweats and no makeup. So that’s how we are today, too, sitting right here in our cozies with no makeup. And I’m inviting you into the rocking chairs with us.”
A clip of the introduction shared on Instagram showed why the decision to go makeup-free was a good one, as the Duchess of Sussex appeared to wipe tears from her eyes.
“I wasn’t expecting that one!” Meghan said with a laugh. “They’re just great, it’s so great — this is why it’s nice not to have makeup on.”
The snippet then showed Meghan saying, “We spend so much of our life trying to prove something. To prove that you’re enough. You have to prove that you’re pretty enough. You have to prove that you’re smart enough.”
“You prove that you’re a good wife or a good friend or and I was like, ‘I am just so done with the prove it game.’ And if you can’t see it, I can’t, I don’t need to prove to you why that’s your loss. Because I know that I’m a great friend, and I know the kind of mom I am, and I know the kind of human being I am,” Meghan said. “I know how I show up, and I love being able to be that person with the people that I love. So worthiness, maybe part of worthiness comes when you stop having to feel like you’re in the prove it game.”
“Hallelujah. I am getting emotional right now,” Jamie said. “Getting out of the prove it game, like, feels like joy, tastes like freedom.”
The IT Cosmetics co-founder teased the chat as Meghan’s “first-ever podcast interview.” Meghan previously acted as a podcast host for Archetypes as well as Confessions of a Female Founder from Lemonada Media, which debuted on April 8, but this is her first time joining a podcast as a guest.
“It’s happening,” Jamie said, adding as they hugged, “I’m so grateful you’re here, it’s going to be fun.”
The podcaster teased that her conversation with Meghan would cover whether the Duchess of Sussex uses “Markle” as her last name, her morning routine and other must-know questions like whether the As ever founder plans to write another book or run for office.
Culled from Yahoo News! Originally published in People.com