Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are very clearly in love with each other. Except for a few small moments over the past few months, most photos of this stunning couple tell that story well. It’s difficult to conceive that they’d ever split up down the road. Unfortunately, the odds might be against them.
It’s true that divorce is frowned upon and Queen Elizabeth can’t stand seeing her family member’s marriage fall apart. But if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did break up, they certainly wouldn’t be the first royal couple to do so. In fact, they’d be following in a long tradition of royal divorce. This is a huge part of the problem.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a short courtship
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met on a blind date and were married less than two years later. That’s a remarkably short time for a royal couple, especially considering what’s at stake. There are a couple of reasons that these two rushed into marriage. Clearly there was a deep attraction between Harry and Meghan since day one. As Meghan explained in a later interview, after a great first date they said to each other, “What are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again.”
That second date turned into many more and eventually into a proposal and royal wedding. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might have hurried the process along because they were both older, wiser, and knew exactly what they wanted.
Both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have divorced parents
There’s an undeniably sad statistic that says children of divorced parents are more likely to get divorced themselves. While it’s no guarantee that these marriages are doomed, it’s worth noting that both Meghan Markle’s parents and Prince Harry’s parents did not have lasting marriages. Meghan Markle’s parents split up when she was just a young child. Meanwhile, we all know the story of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s disastrous divorce, which has affected Prince Harry in so many ways.
On one hand, their parents might inspire Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to fight harder for their marriage because they know how broken homes affect children. But that isn’t necessarily enough to save their union.
Divorce rates are down in the U.K.
There is a bit of good news — even though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are statistically more likely to split because of their parents, a recent report found that the divorce rate in the U.K. hit a new low in 2018, with only 42% of married couples getting divorced. Still, Meghan Markle is technically an American, and the divorce rate in the United States is higher at around 50%. Plus, we can’t forget that Meghan Markle has been married and divorced before. Studies have shown that second marriages are much more likely to end in divorce than first marriages.
The pressure is enough to test the strongest relationship
Right now, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are going through a lot. They’re new parents, plus navigating all the media attention and subsequent backlash to every decision they make. The most important thing they can do to keep their marriage strong is to keep communication lines open and not let the haters affect how they feel about each other.
We wish the best to this royal couple, no matter what the statistics say!
