Meghan Markle recalls her time as a briefcase model on ‘Deal or No Deal’: "I was reduced to a bimbo..."
Meghan Markle is shedding light on her past experiences! In an episode of her Spotify podcast 'Archetypes' which was released on October 18, the Duchess of Sussex candidly spoke about her working experience on the game show 'Deal or No Deal.' During her time in the program, Markle was one of the 25 models whose primary job was to open briefcases. Recently, she revealed that she was just switching channels and came across an old episode of the game show. The clip brought back a flood of memories for Markle from her small stint on episodes that saw the light between 2006 and 2007.
In the episodes, Markle would be seen walking up and down while carrying a briefcase and she would wait for the contestants to call out the number on her briefcase meanwhile, they thought over which briefcase they wanted to open. After making up their mind, the contestants shared their final decision with the host Howie Mandel. For those living under a rock, each briefcase had a cash prize that could be anything from $0.01 to $1,000,000. Speaking of her experience on 'Deal or No Deal', Markle said, "Like I said, I was thankful for the job, but not for how it made me feel, which was not smart. And by the way, I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me, but that wasn’t the focus of why we were there. And I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage. I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance, and that’s how it felt for me at the time being reduced to this specific archetype: the word 'bimbo.'"
According to Today, Markle who studied theatre and international relations at Northwestern University further added, "There were times when I was on set at 'Deal or No Deal' and thinking back to my time working as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina, in Buenos Aires, and being in the motorcade with the secretary of treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain. Here, I was being valued for something quite the opposite." During the episode titled 'Breaking down 'The Bimbo' with Paris Hilton', Markle also discussed the labels of 'dumb blonde' and 'bimbo' with the famed reality TV star Paris Hilton. While having a chat with Markle, Hilton shared that she didn't like being labeled as a "dumb blonde" by anyone. "It wasn't a good feeling for people to think of me in a way that I wasn't. I'm thinking about having my daughter one day and what I want her to be like and I don't want her to think it's cool to pretend to be a dumb blonde or dumb herself down for society or anything like that. I want her to feel free to be whoever she wants to be and feel strong and brave and not let the world take that way from her," she said at the time, as per ABC News.
Later on down the lane, Markle decided to quit the game show 'Deal or No Deal.' Soon after, Markle was cast to play the role of Rachel Zane in the smashing-hit legal drama series 'Suits' which premiered in 2011. In May 2018, Markle tied the knot with Prince Harry and her life turned upside down after the royal wedding. She left the USA Network series. Not only this, she bid adieu to the acting world altogether.
