Meghan Markle Recalls How Focus on Her Race “Really Shifted” After She Started Dating Prince Harry

Meghan Markle is getting candid about conversations surrounding her race.

While chatting with Mariah Carey during the Aug. 30 episode of her podcast Archetypes, the Duchess of Sussex shared that people became "more focused on my race" once she started dating Prince Harry. Describing herself as light-skinned, Meghan explained how things had been "very different" prior to her relationship with her now-husband.

"You're not treated as a Black woman. You're not treated as a white woman," she said. "You sort of fit in between."

Meghan went on to say that she "started to understand" what it was like to "be treated like a Black woman" after she was thrusted into the public spotlight.

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Mariah, who called Meghan's experience "interesting," was also able to relate.

"I always thought it should be okay to say I'm mixed," the singer said. "Like it should be okay to say that. But people want you to choose."

During their conversation, Meghan noted that Mariah was a "formative" part of her upbringing in seeing a woman of color achieve success in mainstream media.

"Of course I had to talk to you," she told the Grammy winner. "Representation matters so much."

Explaining how impactful it was for her to see a woman who resembled her "in a position of power" at the time, Meghan added, "You came onto the scene. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Someone kind of looks like me.'"