Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are being described — by an unnamed insider quoted in Star magazine — as living something close to professional ‘separate lives’ six years after their move from the United Kingdom. It is not the sort of phrase you use for a pair who still trade in togetherness as part of their public mythology, which is precisely why it bites.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex left royal life in 2020 for the bright-light promise of California, determined to pursue business ventures on their own terms and beyond the firm. That gamble has always been about more than money: it is about identity, relevance and who gets to be the author of the Sussex story. Yet the reporting suggests they may now be writing in different genres.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘Separate Lives’ Start With Hollywood
Meghan, 44, is said to be pushing deeper into cinematic projects and brand-building, while Harry, 41, has reportedly grown weary of the very scene that once seemed to validate their choice. ‘Meghan is still laser-focused on the Hollywood scene and building her brand, but Harry’s lost interest in schmoozing with Tinseltown types,’ the insider told Star magazine.
There is a familiar ring to it: the prince as reluctant plus-one, the duchess as the one with the sharper elbows and the clearer endgame. ‘It was a novelty at first. These days, however, that has worn off and it is just a bore to him,’ the source added.
If that is accurate, it reads less like a crisis and more like a slow, grinding mismatch between temperament and environment. Meghan, by contrast, is depicted as still energised by the business of being seen. Whatever people think of her, she has never appeared to drift into a room without knowing why she is there.
Harry is said to be channelling himself elsewhere, pouring ‘all his energy into his Invictus Games Foundation and chasing speaking gigs wherever he can find them.’ Invictus — his charity, founded in 2014, that sponsors a sports competition for wounded servicemen every few years — remains the project that looks most rooted in pre-Montecito sincerity.
But sincerity does not automatically equal togetherness. The same insider claims their professional roads ‘are going in different directions,’ adding: ‘Harry and Meghan are on opposite schedules. As a result, they are spending a ton of time apart.’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘Separate Lives’ Collide at Sundance
They were, at least, seen together late last month at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, promoting their Girl Scout documentary, Cookie Queens. Public appearances like that are the glossy proof-of-life moments, the ones that keep the ‘we are fine’ narrative afloat.
Meghan is currently focusing on her As Ever lifestyle brand, and she debuted her Netflix special With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration in December 2025.
Harry makes what the report calls a ‘blink-and-you-missed-it appearance’ in the special and is described as uninterested in being in front of the camera. The insider is blunt about what that might mean behind closed doors: ‘Fact is, the marriage is nowhere near as perfect as she likes to make it seem… When the cameras are off, their lives are separate.’
It is a stark sentence, but it lands because it nudges at a wider discomfort: a relationship packaged as content can start to feel like a product demo. And then there is the word that will not go away for Harry: ‘spare.’ He published his tell-all memoir Spare in 2023, detailing how he felt secondary to his older brother and heir to the British throne, Prince William, and the story now suggests he feels similarly sidelined at home.
‘Prince Harry has essentially traded one hierarchy for another,’ royal expert Kinsey Schofield told Fox News Digital. ‘In the royal family, he was the spare to Prince William.’
‘In Hollywood, he risks becoming the supporting character to Meghan Markle’s ambitions. The entertainment industry rewards relevance, star power and personal branding,’ Schofield continued. ‘Meghan has consistently demonstrated a clearer strategy and stronger command of that ecosystem.’
If Meghan’s ambition is the engine, Harry’s role — whether he likes it or not — can begin to look like ballast, and no marriage thrives on one person steering while the other quietly wonders where the road is going.