The Duchess of Sussex deleted her personal account from her acting days way back in January 2018, soon after she announced her engagement to Prince Harry. But sources now claim that the Duchess maintained a secret Instagram afterward. Yep, Meghan had a "finsta."
"Since she shut down her public Instagram, she’d had a fake account to follow her friends," a source told The Sun.
But, Meghan reportedly also had to delete that page, because people were just too vicious. All the criticism from commenters made her feel "isolated and alone." She even became worried for her safety.
Indeed, since she became a duchess, people scrutinized the heck out of Meghan's every move. Some of the trolls are extremely cruel. So, no more fake Instagram for Meghan.
Strangely enough, her old public Instagram account did briefly come back online in December, 2019 due to a freakishly timed Instagram glitch.
Who knows? Maybe one day, Meghan will decide to grace Instagram with her presence again for real — haters be damned.
As a member of the British royal family, Meghan Markle is not permitted to have any type of social media presence. Unlike most of us, she's somehow got to fill her days with something other than Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Before, though — back when Meghan was just a regular ol' actress from California — she had and used Instagram regularly.
In fact, it was a (since deleted) Instagram post that first alerted people to the fact that she had a new royal boo in 2016.
Shortly after Meghan and Prince Harry announced their engagement, Meghan shut down her social media accounts. That was back in January 2018.
It's now been a few years since Meghan has had an Instagram of her own, although her face is certainly all over the website anyway.
Or maybe… she's had one this whole time?!
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Sources revealed that Meghan had a "secret" Instagram account, which she used to follow only her close friends.
"Since she shut down her public Instagram, she'd had a fake account to follow her friends," a source told The Sun.
But a few years ago, the Duchess reportedly shut down that account too.
"There was some really vile stuff written by social media trolls and obviously she also saw the headlines about her," the source said.
"It really got to her and, in the end, she had to shut down that account just before Christmas, too, to protect her mental health. She felt very isolated and alone," the source explained.
So, now, she's officially completely social-media-free. She's probably still not able to avoid the nasty headlines completely, but it could certainly help.
But there was also this really oddly timed coincidence: Meghan's old public Instagram account was briefly reactivated right around Christmas, too.
@meghanmarkle with her three million followers was back online, and people were very, very confused.
Sources quickly confirmed that the reactivation was just an Instagram glitch. (Hmmm.)
"For those of you asking, Duchess Meghan is not making a return to Instagram," royal commentator Omid Scobie tweeted.
The profile is now down again.
Most royals aren't allowed to have Instagram. The two exceptions are Princess Eugenie, and Princess Beatrice.
That's likely because they don't have formal working roles within the royal family, People reports. Princess Eugenie, for example, works as an associate director at an art gallery.
Prince Harry, Prince William, and their wives, however, carry out official duties for the palace.
Princess Eugenie often posts photos of her family and her new husband, Jack Brooksbank.
That includes some photos of her grandma, The Queen.
Having an Instagram may actually just be a matter of personal choice, Omid explained on Twitter. So, Meghan could have one if she wanted to.
"No one's not allowed," he explained. "It was always her decision."
With all the trolls out there, it's not surprising that she's decided — along with most royals — to just stay out of it. I very much doubt Meghan is missing Instagram much!
