Meghan Markle Tells Andy Cohen Why She Stopped Watching the ‘Real Housewives’

The Duchess of Sussex was once a fan of the “Real Housewives” franchise but she has since stopped watching.

For the final episode of her “Archetypes” podcast, Meghan Markle had Andy Cohen on as one of her guests.

“It was important to us that women have a space to share their authentic and complicated, complex, and dynamic experiences to be heard and to be understood. But through that process it also occurred to me, and truth be told at the suggestion of my husband, that if we really want to shift how we think about gender and the limiting labels that we separate people into, then we have to broaden the conversation,” she explained. “And we have to actively include men in that conversation,” she added.

Markle and Cohen jumped into several conversations during their chat, including the use and meaning of the word “b****” — and Markle’s decision to stop watching the Cohen-produced “Real Housewives.”

Here’s what you need to know:

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Markle Said That the Drama in Her Own Life Was Enough

Markle admitted that she was a huge fan of the “Real Housewives.” At one point during their conversation, Cohen sort of turned the tables, asking the Duchess of Sussex a question.

“I guess the million dollar question is, do you still watch the Housewives? This is what we’ve been dying to know,” Cohen asked.

“Well, I will tell you the truth. I stopped watching the Housewives when my life had its own level of drama that I stopped craving—” Markle said.

“Other people’s,” Cohen finished her sentence.

“I get why it was such a huge, huge part of pop culture. And when it began, because you began with Orange County and I’m from California, at least it felt remotely like a world that I knew, but still felt so foreign,” she explained, admitting that all of her friends still watch the shows.

Although Markle often questions why her friends still tune in, she gives Cohen credit. She called the franchise “entertaining” and said that the show is “familiar because it’s been on for so long.”

“You’ve created an empire,” she told Cohen.

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Markle Admitted That She’s ‘Conflicted’ About the Success of the Franchise

Markle pointed out that there are now 11 different franchises within the United States but admits that she’s “conflicted” because, on one hand, the franchise promotes women and gives them a platform to be themselves, but, on the other, it creates “caricatures of women.”

“Because as we grapple this season with what archetypes are and how limiting they are, on the flip side of that, is are we exploring giving women the space and allowance to be exactly who they are? As complicated, layered, challenging, funny, silly, etc. Or, in a franchise like Housewives, are we fueling the fire of archetypes by creating caricatures of women?” she reflected.

She later said that she has “mixed feelings” on the show overall.

Markle and Cohen then discussed the rumors that she was going to join one of the franchises. Markle admitted that she’d never heard those rumors and joked that the interview with actual her audition tape for “The Real Housewives of Montecito.”

“You don’t have to audition,” Cohen said. “We’ll build a show around you,” he added. Markle confirmed that she won’t be doing any reality television.

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