Meghan Markle said during a recent podcast conversation that she was an “ugly duckling” and a “loner” during her younger years.
The former senior British royal made the statements while speaking with “The Office” actress Mindy Kaling for her Spotify show, “Archetypes.”
Kaling was discussing how she always tries to boost her 4-year-old daughter’s confidence because she remembers feeling like an outcast during her younger years. “I grew up always feeling ugly, overweight, ‘othered,’ and so, with my daughter, I’m always telling her that she’s beautiful to the point where my friend BJ is like ‘You can tell her other compliments,’” Kaling explained, per The Daily Mail.
Markle replied that she could sympathize with that because she was never considered the “pretty one” at school.
“Were you not the pretty one growing up?” Kaling asks with obvious surprise in her voice.
“No, oh God, no!” Markle replies. “Ugly duckling.”
The Duchess of Sussex went on to describe how she had “massive frizzy, curly hair and a huge gap in my teeth. I was the smart one forever and ever and ever and ever – and then I sort of grew up.”
“I never had anyone to sit with at lunch,” Markle continued. “I was always a little bit of a loner and really shy and didn’t know where I fit in.”
The former senior royal grew up in California, attending Hollywood Schoolhouse and later an all-girls Catholic school, Immaculate Heart, in Los Angeles.
“And so I just became, well, I was like, okay then, I’ll become the president of the multi-cultural club and the president of sophomore class and the president of this… and French club,” she continued. “And by doing that, I had meetings at lunchtime, so I didn’t have to worry about who I would sit with or what I would do because I was always so busy.”
Markle must have outgrown her awkward stage during high school, or she was more popular than she’s letting on, however. It’s been previously reported that the 41-year-old mother of two was named homecoming queen while attending high school.
The biography Finding Freedom alleged that some classmates found Markle to be “fake.”
“Meghan’s willingness to help others and her drive to excel meant she often was deemed ‘fake’ by classmates at school who felt it was impossible for anyone to be that ‘perfect,’” authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote.
A former classmate also confirmed that Markle was nominated for Prom Queen, though she did not win.