A Behavioral Analysis of Meghan Markle: 8 Narcissistic Parallels

Meghan Markle is on the cover of Harper's Bizarre. And honestly, the title has never fit more because Bizarre is exactly the energy these profiles always give. Every single time the journalists walk in expecting an interview and end up describing some surreal fever dream, the grandiosity, the curated scenes, the strange disconnect from reality. And that's exactly why I'm going to delve into eight themes of narcissism and how this interview paralleled them, leaving the author quietly baffled more than she probably intended.

Hey everyone and welcome back to Scandalous Media. It's Angela here, or should I say Angela, Duchess of Scandalous Media. You know, as Caitlyn Greenage, the writer behind the Harper's Bizarre cover story, put it, because that's how the house manager announced Megan's arrival inside a brownstone in New York, even though they were the only other two people in the house. It's interesting how Megan once accused Catherine and William of having that formality behind closed doors, even though she was just a barefoot hugger. Even when Will and Kate came over and I had met her for the first time they came over for dinner. I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. It's like I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger. I didn't realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I guess I'd started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside and then you close the door and you great okay we can relax now. But that formality carries over on both sides, and that was surprising to me. But now look at who's cosplaying that royal formality across the pond.

This was another story of Megan telling us who she is. Her narrative away from the media lens, aka the same BS every Tuesday. For Netflix, it was Harry and Megan share their complex journey in their words in this documentary series. For The Cut, it was Megan of Montecito. She's left the firm behind. Harry's found a polo team in Santa Barbara. The kids are doing great. Now she's ready for her next act. For Variety magazine, it was all about the Megan moment and how she lets her guard down on grieving Queen Elizabeth, producing with Harry, and returning to Hollywood. For her exclusive with People magazine, it's the Megan interview, Harry, the Kids, and My Life Now, an intimate conversation, and how Megan is returning to her roots. Now for Harper's Bizarre, it's again Megan's moment. After years of being subsumed by other people's narratives, the Duchess of Sussex is ready to author her own chapter. What am I getting at? The constant theme with Megan's identity as a brand is that she left the big bad family. Her relationship with Harry is #goals, the kids are doing great, and she's finally able to tell her story. It's always marketed as for the first time ever, in their own words, her next act, returning to Hollywood, returning to her roots, the author of her next chapter. And without fail, it's the same BS time and time again. It's like selling the same product every Tuesday and then coming back the following week and you act like it's something new and revolutionary.

Similarly, in this cover story, it's the same old word salad refurbished. But there is an eerie vibe and a cold tone that the author points out, seemingly shading Megan multiple times and calling her out for her deadpan stares, calculated acts, formal ways, and so much more. Before we get into this exciting video, be sure to like and subscribe for new videos every single week. Put those post notifications on so you don't miss the live chat premiere we do for every single video. Follow us on our social media. And if you're listening on podcast, please rate our show five stars. And now, let's get into this bizarre and tired old narrative from the Duchess of Delusion, the calculated Duchess.

As Puck News put it in October, there was a reason Harper's Bizarre editor-in-chief Samira Nasser and the Duchess of Sussex were so chummy backstage at Pierre Poilievre's Balenciaga debut. Markle is reportedly slated to be on an upcoming cover of the Herzog magazine. And I think that beautifully wraps up everything Megan does nowadays. Attending Paris Fashion Week, going to Kris Jenner's birthday party, being photographed doing charity. Everything is about networking and making connections to further her own agenda. And while nothing is wrong with networking, when your entire brand is built on a lie, and you constantly don't have anything to offer the general public besides being an object for praise, no one is going to respect or support you. That's why when the house manager announced her title in a room where she and one other person stood, it turned people off because it reminded us of who Megan desires to be. A person we praise based on the sole purpose of her existence and what she deemed as hardship in life. You quickly realize that the facade she put up over the years like "Just call me Megan" or "I'm just Megan." >> "And I was like, oh, lovely to meet you." >> "That she said, 'You're like, call me Megan.'" >> "Yeah." Or, "What? I have to curtsy to that old lady?" >> "Medieval Times, Dinner and Tournament." It was like that. Like I curtsied as though I was like... was nothing more than her attempting to weaponize relatability when all she wanted was everything she claimed to hate the royal family stood for. And if you watch my Netflix coverage where I break down every single lie they told in their six-episode soap opera, you can see the vast difference between who Megan pretended to be and who she actually is today. At least a few years ago, she tried to hide what she actually wanted. She and Harry were always making political statements and pretending to be activists. Now, she has no problem admitting that she practically cosplays as a British royal in America, and this is hinted at in the article.

Interestingly enough, the author, Caitlyn, writes about Megan in the shadiest way imaginable. Polite on the surface, but every sentence has a little side-eye tucked between the lines. At first, it might seem like the author is feeding Megan's grandiosity, but really, she exposes it through meticulous description, letting the cracks beneath the shine quietly show. This cover story starts like, "Megan is this all-encompassing savior sent from above at this museum in LA, where a group of girls from a local academy are present. The 11 and 12-year-olds in their purple and gray uniforms are unaware of who they are about to meet. A golf cart pulls up. The gravel crunching beneath its tires. The Duchess of Sussex. Someone in the scrum announces. Megan descends. Dressed in wide-leg trousers, a slick blouse, and a small pair of diamond studs by the Ukrainian brand Guzma. They were a gift from her husband, Prince Harry, picked up on a recent trip to Kyiv with his Invictus Games Foundation." What? She's being written about as if she's materializing from some celestial cloud because that's probably how Megan sees herself. Anyways, Megan tries to bond with the girls and keep this in mind for later. And then she tells one of them that she has a 90-day streak on Duolingo because she's been trying to learn French. >> "Or done my 10 minutes of Duolingo. I really wanted to relearn French. I had studied it for the four years in high school."

The irony comes when Terry Wood, the former executive president at Harpo Productions, aka Oprah's production company, is quoted saying, "Megan understands her voice better than you. Better than any producer could put it out there." And honestly, that right there is the core Megan dilemma. This unwavering belief that only she knows how to tell her story, which I'll explain more in the narcissistic parallels, a portion of the video. While it's great that she has that confidence, it's interesting when you look at how that plays out in her real life. But Terry Woods continues. "She knows how she comes across and she knows how she wants to connect. So, she sees the way her behavior is shown in public and how she's perceived and still doesn't see any issue with that."

The author writes, "After years of others attempting to fit her into their narratives, she is now pursuing a life and a career that feel authentic to her and her alone and allowing herself to enjoy it, too." It's interesting to say "the other narratives" when really we're talking about serious bullying reports and investigations, lies that had to be apologized for in court, lies in general, like something as simple as a wedding date, and getting people to do your dirty work for you. It's not narratives, it's public stories on record. Speaking of which, where is Omid Scobie now? Did Megan finally cut him off after he published the last thing she needed from him? Claims that King Charles and Princess Catherine were the royal racists in his book Endgame. Were the philanthropic tours, charity visits, and impact branding not authentic to her? Did she not enjoy any of that? Because the article implies that now, now that she's mingling with Kardashians, attending Paris Fashion Week, and making very watery jam with Flower Sprinkles, this is the life that finally feels real to her.

Here's where the author really shades Megan, and it all has to do with their lunch at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Caitlyn Greenidge describes a location with theatrical detail and says, "Long the see-and-be-seen spot for Hollywood dealmaking and politicking. It is a calculated choice as the site for my first interview with Megan." That line is the real wink at the reader. The Polo Lounge is famous for people going there when they want to be noticed. Mentioning that makes the author sound aware and almost amused by the choice of venue, especially with Megan's reputation in Hollywood. She continues, "We are ushered to a circular table in the corner of the garden, a prime seat where we can see the other diners and they can see the three of us. The Sussex's chief communications officer sits between us." Again, there's this emphasis on how public this all is. How Megan shows a spotlight, not a quiet corner, letting us know that the communications officer sitting right between them is another telling detail. And back in October 2023, Megan was caught chatting up another reporter at the Beverly Hills Hotel amid talk of a Hollywood comeback. Ironically enough, that article mentioned the story the media was being given at the time, which was Megan has been strategizing about what mediums will have the most impact and that this comeback will focus on philanthropy and be rooted in giving back. This is hilarious considering the years to follow brought us with Love Megan and American Riviera, sorry, as ever, as part of this philanthropic rebrand. So, thanks Meg for, you know, giving back.

In August 2023, a source told Page Six that Megan won't shy away from the spotlight and that Megan's not seeking out opportunities to be photographed, but she's realized she has to live her life. None of the cameras are going away. Fast forward to this interview with the author literally saying that Megan made a very calculated choice as the site for their first interview and the way Caitlyn writes about Megan gives the same vibe I've always gotten from her. An alien-like robot trying to imitate normal human emotions. We order a burger and fries for the table. And Megan orders the Polo Power Bowl. When it arrives, she holds up the dish, taking genuine delight in the perfectly arranged produce. The writer paints her as someone performing enthusiasm for camera-ready aesthetics and thanks to "With Love, Megan," we already get a sense that this was likely how she behaves on the show.

Then come the name drops. During the conversation, Megan pauses to greet Michael Chow and mentions that his restaurant recently catered Harry's birthday, or "H" as she calls him. Then she has a whispered exchange with a famous film titan. It's not necessarily an unkind way of portraying Megan, but the author is making sure to convey this difference in status and how she's literally having a whispered conversation in the middle of an interview. The author follows it up with a rhetorical question: "How do powerful women flex?" It's like she wants to emphasize that Megan's behavior is a performance, essentially saying that she's flexing on her. Megan's described as leading with affability, which seems like praise, but in the context of how the author writes about Megan, it gears toward more of using warmth as a tactic. And while affability generally means the quality of being friendly and well-mannered, it backfires if it seems fake or solely self-serving, aka the vibe we're all getting from Megan. This is especially seen with how the author contrasts the warmth she greets each of these men with. While with her, she writes, "the power balance shifts back and forth," saying that she's warm and open, maintaining direct eye contact. But that line about "the power balance shifts back and forth between them" is the author subtly saying Megan knows how to manage people, including me, including this interview.

Megan goes on another mini-rant about how much of a nerd she was and how her entire identity was wrapped up in being the smart one. A tangent we've seen Megan go on before. This is where the soap dish commercial is brought up again because Megan brings up the school girls mentioned earlier in the article and how she really empathizes with them and their vulnerability. The only correlation the author can draw back to Megan is that Megan was once the same age as them, 11, when she graduated from Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse. Also the same age when she wrote the letter to Proctor and Gamble to protest gender stereotypes. >> "Here we go again." >> "We were all 11 once." That's not the bonding experience you think it is. I also find it hilarious that this school project, one her dad apparently got her to do and the same abandoned dad sitting in the hospital right now, is being brought up again. That's how short the list of notable things Megan has done is. It's very much picking at straws because the fact that a woman in her 40s can only fake relatability by saying she relates to the pre-teens she saw at a natural history museum simply seems performative to me. What can you possibly relate to? It wasn't an emotional bonding activity. It was an active fossil dig site where the kids were working with dirt and bone specimens. There is no emotional moment here.

Megan deadpans, freezes, and rambles. This is where Megan starts to get defensive and repeat things we've heard her say all year. She talks about work ethic, showing up for potlucks at her kid's school, throwing a party for a friend who had a baby, and bringing that same energy to her business. In every interview, she pushes the narrative that she's just doing things for others out of the goodness of her heart. Like she's a normal gal trying to balance a private but very public life. I don't buy it. The only time we really see her doing anything for someone is when they're a billionaire. Like sending her merch to Jamie's house when she had a full house of people. Stressed out. >> "One time I had in-laws and all these people visiting." >> "You had a very full house." >> "Very full house. And all of a sudden I get word that, you know..." >> "...um, and drop something off. All of a sudden, you dropped off this gift basket with ice creams, homemade strawberry sauce to put on top of the ice cream." >> "Or catering the wine at Emma's party, another house full of connections and networking opportunities." And it's fine to want to further your own agenda, but this constant show of "I'm so normal and I do normal things and I just want to be normal" is tiring and off-putting, especially when you can't even extend that grace to your own father. You allegedly only reached out to him once his leg got amputated. It's cold and heartless. And yet, she says, "I think the moment that you start making all of your personal decisions based on external judgment, then you lose your authenticity." This is gold coming from the person who does exactly that. What was the point of Archetypes? To hit back at every word she was called in the media. What was the point of the Harry & Meghan reality TV show? To hit back at every story that was ever said about them. What was the point of the Colombia and Nigeria faux royal tours? To pretend to be working royals since they didn't get their half-in-half-out wish? Why is she not touring right now? I'm pretty sure Colombians and Nigerians would like to taste some runny jam. What was the point of any of the charitable and philanthropic efforts when all Megan could come up with was making jam, cooking on a set, and now returning to acting? Someone so desperate to prove a narrative will constantly highlight their authenticity. Megan constantly telling us how authentic she is or what she does to maintain authenticity is telling because you don't need to tell us how authentic you are. You just show us, and she can't.

Then the interviewer catches her off guard when Megan is confronted with failure. Even the way the author writes it, "When I broach the topic," which here means bringing up a sensitive issue, and asks Megan what she's learned from her mistakes, she describes Megan as she deadpans and says, "You learn not to do it again." It's giving confronting an evil villain in a movie, not going to lie. Look at the choice of wording here. Deadpans and then clarifies, "If it all goes swimmingly, you don't learn from it. If you don't learn anything, you're not going to grow. I'm a mom with kids at that age where they are constantly learning something new." She immediately pivots away from herself and quickly reframes the topic into a generic life lesson about growth and failure. Then very quickly, she jumps into being a mom to humanize herself and then goes into another tangent about not being perfect and just trying to have fun. Keep the word "fun" in mind here. By steering the conversation toward motherhood, she turns, "What have you done wrong?" to, "Let me tell you how I parent, how I nurture, and how I apply life lessons." By the end of the paragraph, she has transformed the interviewer's question into a motivational mantra, a philosophical stance, and an empowerment narrative. What began as a pointed question about her mistakes becomes a general TED talk-style message about growth. This is exactly why people accuse her of word-salading all over the place and being this calculated figure rather than the authentic one she swears she is.

And the structure of the writing here is deliberate. We have seen this play out before when she was asked about failure on the Aspire podcast and we saw how it made her physically uncomfortable. When Emma starts talking about the emotional toll of launching a business that doesn't work out, the desperation, the failure, and the hard truth of it, you can literally see Megan get triggered and her mask slips. >> "God knows I got it wrong enough times. Desperation to just get something done that the..." >> She pauses for a beat, eyebrows tense, and lets out this awkward >> "...get something done. That..." >> "...that sounds more like discomfort and, 'Oh, really?' than empathy." Then comes the subtle shift. She quickly adjusts her body, blinks rapidly, then closes her eyes for just a second too long. >> "First person that was like, 'Hey, we believe in you.' I was like, 'Great. Me, too. Let's go.' And there were parts of it that were good and parts of it that, you know, let's say I had to learn from a little bit. But when you look at this partnership, because it is pretty..." >> And what does she do? Go into a whole tangent about how this is a relationship with Netflix that is now a friendship. I spoke about that in my video about her interview. So, go check it out. >> "These are relationships and friendships. Now..." >> "...so though I'm working more so with the other building of Netflix, it's still the same group of people."

But I can only imagine how Megan deadpans the way the author writes. I assume it's the same cold and eerie stare she was giving Emma. The cover story also quotes people in defense of her because Megan is constantly on the defense. She's never really showing us anything new. It's always the same, but people should like me because blah blah blah blah blah. Serena Williams is like, "We could talk for 100 hours. We never stop smiling." Kelly Zen is like, "She's funny. I think maybe that's surprising to people." Terry Wood is quoted again saying, "Not everyone who starts a business is under the microscope that she's under. It always feels like they're recruiting as many people as they can to humanize Megan. And that's all undone by how Megan portrays herself." Something that the author seems to take note of.

Megan stresses this theme of how important balancing work and family is to her, making sure she's always involved and going as far as saying that her office is right by the kitchen and that Lily will sit on her lap during meetings. She's like, "I hope that the kids see the value of being brave because they saw when the jam was just a pot on the stove bubbling and blah blah blah blah blah." The author writes, "Our allotted time at the table is coming to a close. The last of the meal is whisked away and a waiter comes by with an unsolicited cappuccino. In the foam on top, the restaurant has printed a photorealistic image of Megan. 'Oh,' she says, smiling down at it. 'I recognize this picture. That's from our trip to South Africa.'" Caitlyn continues, "It's a lovely and absurd perk of celebrity. And Megan is tickled enough to take a photo of it." Notice the wording, "unsolicited cappuccino," and "photorealistic image of Megan." It's like the author nudges us to notice the absurdity of the gesture while also subtly poking fun at how celebrity-obsessed this environment is. Saying she was "tickled enough to take a photo" kind of shrinks the moment as if we are meant to chuckle along at the silliness of this whole thing. The contrast of "lovely" with "absurd" is the shade. It's basically saying, "Yes, this is enjoyable for her." Meanwhile, in the media, she tries to frame herself as one tired celebrity. Meanwhile, in this interview, being a celebrity is like her lifeline.

Megan's flex and her cold goodbye. A week later, the author and Megan meet again, this time in New York in a grand brownstone on the Upper East Side that belongs to one of Megan's apparent friends. That's when the house manager announces, "Megan, Duchess of Sussex," leaving the author a bit flabbergasted. Now, I find the way the following scene is described really intriguing. They're deciding where to have their talk. Megan gestures toward the second floor, accessed via a glass elevator in the living room.

Then comes Paris Fashion Week. As we know, Pierre Poilievre revealed that Megan reached out first after her team tried to make it seem like she was the celebrity guest of honor. >> "We, we continue, uh, like texting. She just happened up and say, 'Love to come to your show.'" Once that was exposed, Megan tried to reclaim control in this interview saying, "I reached out and I said, 'Happy to come and support you. We kept it a secret and it was really fun.'" Admitting it after her team, or should I say the office of Megan, had spun it as "this evening reflects many years of artistry and friendship," makes me believe that she only did that to pretend like she had nothing to hide. The media had mocked her for supposedly being a surprise guest when she was the one who initiated it. By framing it as casual and fun, she reclaims the narrative and looks unbothered. And of course, Megan says "fun" again, prompting the author to note, "There's that word again." Oh my god. It almost feels like she's mocking her.

Megan goes on another tangent about how involved as a mother she likes to be while also playing celebrity. "I love being able to do both. To play in the sandbox with my kids and to play in the front row at a show." Considering she was in Paris, then New York, then partying with the Kardashians, and her kids never made an outing, as they never do, it seems like she's once again trying to reframe the narrative that she's this hands-on mom that goes and does school drop-off and runs back and does her meeting and then is the perfect do-it-all celebrity. And it's like, we know that's not true. >> "I either put on workout clothes, brush my teeth, um, get both of them up, I get them dressed, get them downstairs, make breakfast." >> "I love doing lunch boxes. It makes me very happy. And write a little note in their lunch boxes." >> "If I don't have meetings in the morning, then I try to do school drop-off. So, they're at two different schools." >> "That's a big circuit. So, from 6:30 in the morning on drop-off mornings for me, I'm not home till 9:00." >> "And then after that, I'll just jump into meetings. And then on..."

Here's where it gets interesting and almost awkward between the interviewer and Megan. The author points out that when women in the public eye are multi-dimensional, they tend to get a lot of flack. Megan then asks her, "Why do you think that is?" to which the author phrases it in a way where it's kind of defensive or that Megan's question came coldly because she describes the next scene as her launching to explain her point, writing, "Here I launch into a tangent about our culture's deep and historical distrust of women's voices in public." You know what I mean? I finally say, "Megan deadpans again." Well, yeah. Notice the wording, "deadpans again," and then proceeds to be short with her, saying two words. "Well, yeah." Maybe she got triggered because she felt like she was being called a liar since she's saying that the public has a distrust with what women are saying in public. Who knows? But then the author is like, "You have good boundaries." To which Megan starts talking, pauses, and makes the face similar to the one she made about making mistakes. She laughs and then starts talking about protecting herself. She then shifts into how much Harry loves her. Notice the wording and the way she is described. She puts her hands on her heart when she talks about her husband. "He loves me so boldly, fully, and he also has a different perspective because he sees media that I wouldn't. No one in the world loves me more than him. So, I know he's always going to make sure that he has my back." There we go again. That emphasis on regardless of what the media is saying, I'm still winning. It's a theme we also saw on Netflix, which I covered, and it's definitely worth a watch today. This wouldn't be the first time she brought this up. And when you constantly say, "Well, this person loves me despite all of that," it feels like she's trying to prove something. And it also feels like she's just repeating the same thing she said on the Jamie Kern Lima podcast. "H, that man loves me so much. Slay the dragon, save the princess. I'm like, that's my husband." This is especially because the media and people like me have highlighted how uncomfortable and annoyed Harry looks in public with Megan. And yet, she believes she can disprove that one Instagram story at a time. It's always, "They love me, he loves me, they wanted me," and it's never about how she feels. When she does talk about herself, it's about the things she does for people and how that shows how much she cares and basically how amazing she is.

She goes on about how Harry has this childlike wonder and playfulness, a trait Megan has been accused of exploiting, a theme I've explored in several videos. For a deeper dive, check out the psychology of series on both Megan and Harry. She again talks about how she wants them to play and have fun. There's that word again. She has said "fun" a total of five times in this interview. Megan says that growing up, her understanding of what it meant to be a mother and a girl came from both the women around her and the media she consumed. Speaking of family and her upbringing, it's interesting that the media gets credit before her father, especially when he was the one taking care of her for the apparent 10 years her mom wasn't in her life. The same dad who continued to grow old and ill and she still didn't pay him any mind while he begged to meet his grandchildren. The same dad that when he was in the hospital getting his foot amputated, that's when she released a statement saying she reached out. And her version of reaching out, by the way, was emailing him. The coldness is undeniable. And even then, it was just a distant, impersonal email. She didn't reach out until his leg was literally amputated. But even then, she made sure to tell us that she did because at the end of the day, Megan cares about how Megan is perceived. She didn't check in when he had a stroke in 2022. Instead, she toured burned-down homes of strangers like a photo-op-ready government official.

Which brings us to the next part of the cover story. Here, Megan comes lying about a connection to these homes, saying, "I saw homes where I used to have sleepovers reduced to ash." What homes? You didn't visit the homes of people you actually know. You don't have friends there. Actually, you don't have any real friends at all. The only people in your circle now are celebrities you worked your way to trading PR baskets and calling that friendship. Friends who weren't even worthy of a wedding invitation. About volunteering with the World Central Kitchen nonprofit, she said it was less about just giving someone a handout, but giving it to them with dignity. >> "What?" >> Notice how she always manages to put herself in the savior role. Like, no one thinks handing food to people who just lost their homes is a handout in the first place. And yet, here she is, casting herself as the one bringing dignity to the situation.

The ending of the cover story ends with the same coldness and disconnect we've seen throughout the article. Megan name-drops some more with the author writing, "It's nearly time for me to go." Megan tells me she'll be having lunch soon with Gloria Steinem, or "Glo" as she calls her. Notice how Megan flaunts her nicknames for these people, even her own husband, as proof of closeness. It's like saying, "Look, I'm proving it with this nickname." And the author could tell. She writes, "Megan is remarkably at ease with the surrealism of global celebrity. In fact, she seems to enjoy it." There it is. Years of PR and fake stories of privacy destroyed in one sentence. It was never, "The paparazzi won't leave me alone." It was never, "The royal family was mean to me." It was never, "I want privacy." It was and has always been about Megan reaching global celebrity status and doing things that serve her. As we can tell, Harry isn't featured here aside from being reduced to a letter who loves Megan so much despite everything that has been exposed about her. And there is a sense of coldness in the way it all wraps up. The house is quiet. The streets outside are too because of the storm. When I walk to the door, I turn and can see Megan turn back to the kitchen, illuminated by the green light of the rain-soaked garden, ready to move on to the next thing. Megan didn't lead her out of the house. Instead, she walks toward the door and Megan turns her back on her, already to the kitchen. And the imagery is cinematic. It frames her as constantly in transition, almost like a performer stepping from scene to scene rather than a fully grounded figure. And ironically, Megan tries her hardest to be seen as the latter.

The narcissistic parallels. Megan is widely believed to be a narcissist. I'm not here to diagnose her. You can make your own conclusions. But from what I've gathered from this interview and the eerie way she's being described, I've pulled recognizable behavioral patterns that often mirror traits associated with narcissism. Here are my eight examples.

Number one, seeking status, prestige, or admiration through environment. Narcissistic individuals often seek admiration via environments that signal status or exclusivity. In the article, the interview highlights the "see and be seen" scene in nature, the prime table placement, the piano, and the curated path through the hotel. She even says that this is a "calculated choice" where everyone can see them.

Number two, association with high-status people for self-elevation. Narcissistic personalities may align themselves with powerful, famous, or influential people as a way to elevate their own image by proxy. This is sometimes called status by association or acquired narcissism. It's this personality shift where narcissistic traits develop later in life in individuals who gain significant fame, wealth, or power. This is triggered by a self-enhancing environment that provides constant adoration and praise from fans, the media, and those around them, leading to a grandiose sense of self-importance and lack of empathy. In the article, the author notes that she chats with Michael Chow, mentions catering for Harry, and whispers with the film titan. While doing so, she lets the power dynamic clear, and the author notes that throughout the interview, there are a handful of name drops as well. It's also how we see that Megan dropped all her childhood friends and even her own family on her quest to the top.

Number three, calibrated charm as social control. Narcissistic personalities use charm as a tool to maintain control of perception. The author repeatedly emphasizes her affability, the calibrated warmth, the direct eye contact almost as a social strategy.

Number four, discomfort when confronted with personal flaws. Difficulty taking accountability is central to narcissistic behavior. Common responses include deflecting, reframing, generalizing, changing the subject, and leaning into grand philosophies instead of specific responsibility. Megan's deadpan response to, "What have you learned from your mistakes?" followed by a fast shift into motherhood and generalized philosophy is a classic way to divert attention from personal accountability.

Number five, transforming criticism into inspirational messaging. Narcissistic personalities often convert criticism into heroic, spiritual, or motivational narratives to regain control of the story and preserve self-enhancement. This is known as self-aggrandizing reframing. Megan pivots from an uncomfortable question into learning and growth, wisdom for motherhood, grace, and imperfection.

Number six, using vague philosophical metaphors to signal depth. Narcissistic behavior often includes pseudo-profound language, metaphors, or philosophical statements that sound deep while revealing little emotional vulnerability. Megan says, "I don't like things that feel overly realized. If you overwork the dough, it won't rise." This positions her as instinctively wise, intuitive, and above overthinking. An image-enhancing stance, not a revealing one. We know she's not above any of this. We've seen her fight with journalists on the Netflix show, micromanage her narrative, even given an explanation about using frozen waffles, and overexplain every tiny detail of her life.

Number seven, belief in one's superior way of doing things. This one is a big one for Megan. A sense of unique insight or superiority, feeling like one's way is naturally better, more enlightened, or inherently correct, is common in narcissistic frameworks. This often leads to friction in structured environments. In her own words, Megan has said that once she stepped into the spotlight, she strengthened her boundaries, learning to protect herself rather than to bend to old protocols. She's argued that real authenticity comes from not following external expectations, but from trusting your own sense of what's right. Saying, "If you start making all your personal decisions based on external judgment, you lose your authenticity." That's a bold claim and basically a declaration that her way is the only way. When you contrast that with the fact that so much of what happens around her is meticulously staged for maximum effect. From luxury settings to perfectly curated public appearances, you start to see more than confidence. You see conviction that her own choices, her own narratives are superior. It didn't matter what structures existed or what advisers recommended. Megan insisted on doing things her way from day one. And we have her employees complaining about this on record. The fact that she doesn't get along with anyone who's not a billionaire ready to fund her fever dream is telling. She couldn't get along with her communication secretary, Jason Knauff, who was forced to report her to HR for bullying staff. She couldn't get along with the original director for Netflix, Garrett Bradley, who wanted to film for the show, but Megan was insistent on showing us her iPhone videos. Even something as simple as attending a Kardashian-Jenner party. She had an issue with how photos were being distributed. And she tried to argue on Netflix that she did everything she could to work with the royal family, but they were just turned off with her effortless popularity. How she could have easily changed the world by modernizing them and how that uptightness ultimately threatened their safety and happiness. >> "When someone who's marrying in who should be a supporting, a supporting act is then stealing the limelight or is doing the job better than the person who was born to do this. All I see is a narcissistic tendency."

And finally, number eight, the illusion of effortlessness. The illusion of effortlessness in narcissism describes a core aspect of their behavior. A deep desire for success and admiration without the need for struggle, work, or compromise. It's this idea that success and attention and influence simply flow to them because of who they are, not because of work or intention. It creates the impression of someone who is naturally exceptional, above the grind that mere mortals struggle with. And you see echoes of this in the Harper's Bizarre interview. Megan talks about how she was always naturally smart and how "I don't like things that feel overly realized. If you overwork the dough, it's not going to rise." This metaphor isn't accidental. It reinforces the idea that she thrives most when she doesn't try too hard. That her best results emerge organically, intuitively, and because she's naturally aligned or gifted. And this is a classic hallmark of the effortlessness persona. The disinterest in appearing rehearsed, the disdain for looking like you planned too much, the implication that authenticity, her authenticity, is inherently superior. But it's not just a dough metaphor. The article repeatedly frames Megan as someone who looks like she floats through life. She lights up effortlessly when speaking to children. She's warm and open with the interviewer. She casually whispers to a film titan. She's unfazed by a cappuccino printed with her own face. She gracefully glides between front-row fashion week and sandbox motherhood. Even her grand entrances are described with cinematic ease. All of this contributes to an image of a woman who supposedly doesn't strain for attention. It just arrives. And that's the subtle trick of the narcissistic effortlessness aesthetic. Make sure the work is invisible and the magic looks innate. Even the part where Megan insists she loves doing everything for fun is part of this performance. If everything is fun, then nothing is work. Nothing is struggle. She isn't trying. She's just shining. When in reality, the article itself quietly exposes the truth. Everything around her is highly orchestrated. The setting, the axis, the people appearing at the table, the staging, the cappuccino art, the whispered celebrity interactions, none of that is effortless. But she wants it to look effortless. And that is exactly the kind of image maintenance narcissistic personalities are known for. And the key about the illusion of effortlessness is this: it only works if people applaud you for it. The admiration is part of the performance. And Megan clearly feeds off of that. Just look at her face when Jamie Kern Lima gushes about the "Megan effect." >> "There's this thing known as the Megan effect. Um, what..." >> "Her expression says everything. She is so self-satisfied. Like, 'Oh my god, me. Yes, I hold this much power in life.'" And that's the thing she's not getting. All the calculated charm and effortless greatness in the world can't make people connect with her. That's the secret behind why Meghan Markle hasn't fully landed and why she hasn't won over the public.

Well, guys, that's it for this video. It was a long one, but I hope you enjoyed it. Stay tuned for my top 10 most embarrassing moments of Megan and Harry in 2025. And drop your picks in the comments so I can make sure to include them. Let me know if you would like to see more videos like this one. Be sure to like and subscribe. Put those post notifications on so you don't miss the live chat premiere we do for every single video and follow us on our social media. And as ever, I'll see you next time.