A model and activist, who has had private meetings with Meghan, has said she found it “really, really shocking” that she was allegedly not able to get help from royal aides for her mental health struggles.
In her bombshell TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex revealed she had suicidal thoughts during her time in the Royal Family.
Meghan claimed she had asked to go somewhere for help, but a senior person in the institution told her it would not look good. Buckingham Palace has not yet commented on her allegations.
Speaking about the duchess’s alleged lack of assistance, Adwoa Aboah told Sky News: “What an awful message to send out to anyone in the depths of mental health.”
Aboah, who has battled with depression, also praised Meghan – who has campaigned about mental health – for opening up publicly and talking about her personal struggles.
She said: “For me that’s a win for all who have been in the dark and have felt at a breaking point, that someone has stood up and shared about something that’s going on in their life, and has been honest about what’s going on in their life and taken agency on their life.
“I have to celebrate that. I did the same thing and I advocate for others to do that.”
Aboah, who appeared alongside Meghan on an International Women’s Day panel in 2019, and was one of the people who was on Meghan’s Vogue front cover, said she found the duchess to be “sincere” and “from a very authentic place”.
She also said when she watched the Oprah interview, her first thoughts were: “As someone whose been at that breaking point, I think I took quite a personal stance on it in terms of the fact that I can truly understand what it means to be at that point of not wanting to be on the planet and being surrounded in darkness with very little hope.”
She also said she was “not surprised” when she heard Meghan allege that someone in the royal household had raised “concerns” about her son Archie’s skin colour before he was born.
Aboah said: “I feel like we’ve been shown how they’ve been treated, how she’s been treated numerous amounts of times, we know the reasons why she left the UK.”
She also argued it was right that Meghan was able to talk about what happened in the royal household.
Gurls Talk founder Aboah said: “Why can’t she? She’s been silenced and let lots of things be written about her and has not been able to speak about it and speak her opinion and speak the truth, her truth. So personally, I stand behind her to be honest.”
She said it was “amazing” that Meghan was speaking out, adding: “We’re made to believe we’re lucky to be there, and this position (of influence) is so fragile and there is a fear that if we speak about things we’re rocking the boat”.
“And we’re making people feel uncomfortable and it might be best that we just keep silent.
“And we have this fear that if we talk about these things, that position that we have worked so hard and fought against so many obstacles to get to will be taken away from us. That’s why I commend her for speaking about these things.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
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