Meghan Markle Had a ‘Secret’ Blog Before ‘The Tig’
Meghan Markle had a busy career before she met Prince Harry. Royal fans know that she starred on the USA legal drama Suits, authored her own lifestyle blog called The Tig, and was also a vocal political activist. In their new book Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Caroyln Durand reveal that Meghan also had a “secret” blog when she was an up-and-coming Hollywood actor.
Meghan Markle shared relatable content on ‘The Tig’
Unlike Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle brand Goop, Meghan’s blog didn’t feature jade eggs, kid calming mists, and weird candles. Instead, the future Duchess of Sussex described the site as a “hub for the discerning palate – those with a hunger for food, travel, fashion & beauty.”
As Vanity Fair noted in 2017 when the site was still live, Meghan’s blog had a “low-key” theme and often posted about her favorite foods and playlists. She also shared her love for travel, but also enjoyed time at home.
“Sometimes jumping on a plane, train or automobile isn’t in the cards, and your only opportunity to vacation is at home sweet home,” Meghan wrote in one post.
Meghan also posted about planning a bachelorette weekend for her “best friend” Lindsay, and she shared her list of favorite vacation reads. Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient topped the list.
She also shared that “everything tastes better…with a little hot sauce.”
Meghan was planning a career change before she met Prince Harry
The Duchess of Sussex was in the middle of her seven-season run on Suits when a friend set her up with Prince Harry in July 2016. In Finding Freedom, Scobie and Durand revealed that Meghan had plans to build The Tig into a bigger brand before she became a royal.
Named after Meghan’s favorite Italian wine, Tignanello, it was originally her “passion project.” However, it grew into “an amazing community of inspiration, support, fun, and frivolity.”
Her plan was for The Tig to be the vehicle that developed “her career as a lifestyle influencer.”
According to Cosmopolitan, Meghan hired Jonathan Shalit to help her build her lifestyle empire. Jonathan wanted to develop a “food, travel, and culture show” that stemmed from The Tig. This was “the kind of future Meghan hoped would blossom out of her website.”
There were also plans for Meghan’s blog to be “spun into a cookbook.”
Meghan Markle’s first blog was Hollywood’s ‘worst kept secret‘
Finding Freedom also reveals that before Suits, Meghan wrote the secret blog The Working Actress. According to Hello, the blog detailed the “pitfalls and triumphs of struggling to make it in Hollywood.”
The blog detailed joyful moments when Meghan booked a job. She also shared the “despair and rejection” that actors feel when they lose a role. Meghan claimed acting was an industry “often driven by appearance rather than talent.”
Meghan never took credit for writing the popular blog. But Scobie and Durand claim that it was “one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets that she was the face behind it.” The authors also claim that Meghan became recognized for her “clever advice and honest anecdotes.”
The Working Actress blog shut down when Meghan landed the role of Rachel Zane on Suits. Two years later she launched The Tig. Meghan shut it down in 2017 when her relationship with Prince Harry got serious.
