Cressida Bonas is opening up about life on the other side of dating a royal. The 31-year-old actress is currently promoting her new show, White House Farm.
Recently, Cressida sat down with The Daily Telegraph to talk about overcoming fear to move her life forward after her split with Harry. She acknowledges that "fear" held her back from joining the royal family.
Interestingly, The Sun purported that Cressida split with Harry after seeing what Prince William and Kate Middleton experienced during their first royal tour with Prince George. Considering that Kate has had a much easier go at royal life than Meghan Markle has, the fact that what Cressida saw was enough to scare her away is pretty telling.
After the split, fear reared its ugly head again. She was afraid that she'd forever be boxed in as an "it girl" as the prince's ex. It inspired her podcast, Fear Itself. It also inspired her to give her all to acting.
Cressida Bonas is opening up about why the royal life wasn't for her. In a recent interview with The Daily Telegraph, she spoke about her relationship with fear and how it played a role in her decision to end things with Prince Harry. She also discussed what it took to overcome her fear in the aftermath.
Cressida and Harry started dating in 2012 after being introduced by Harry's cousin, Princess Eugenie. They were first spotted together publicly that July. The two enjoyed partying together. This period was a major part of Harry's reputation as the wild child of the royal family.
Harry and Cressida reportedly took a break after the photos of him playing strip poker with a group of women in Las Vegas leaked. Harry was deployed to Afghanistan the following month. During his 20 weeks away, the two stayed in contact by letter. They were seen together just a month after he returned, in February 2013.
Sometime in early 2014, the couple called it quits. They decided to remain friends. The public learned of the split that April. Though it was an amicable split, people still wanted to know why Harry found himself single again months shy of his 30th birthday.
Last year, The Sun reported that Cressida was the one to call things off. According to royal expert Katie Nicholl's book, Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, Cressida realized she didn't want to be part of the royal family after watching Prince William and Kate Middleton's spring tour of New Zealand and Australia with Prince George. The tour took place in April 2014, which would mean that the couple's breakup went public almost immediately.
"Cressida had been 'completely spooked' while watching TV coverage of William, Kate and George touring New Zealand and Australia that spring," Katie wrote. "There was no way she wanted that sort of attention and she told Harry so."
The book references that this was the second time Harry had lost out on love because of his royal status.
In her interview, Cressida noted this time while referencing her relationship with fear. "The fear of failing, the fear of rejection, the fear of not getting it right, the fear of not being perfect … I think that has limited me in certain situations in my life," she said coyly.
"I think I have grown confident and fortunately I have learned not to sweat the small stuff too much," she added. "And I just think it has definitely given me a stronger sense of purpose and a stronger sense of what I want or don't want."
Cressida also feared that she wouldn't be able to shake the "it girl" label she'd earned for her time as Harry's girlfriend.
"I think terms like that are very narrow-minded. I think that I work very, very hard, I love what I do, and I just hope that this role has shown people what I can do and what I would like to do going forward and not be caught in a box in any way," she said, referencing her role as a schizophrenic mother of twins accused of murdering her adoptive parents in White House Farm.
Incidentally, Cressida ended up with a Harry after all. She's engaged to Harry Wentworth-Stanley, a UK real estate broker. Their wedding has been postponed due to shutdowns, but she's hopeful they'll be able to reschedule things soon.
Cressida's comments also give major insight into Harry's history. If Cressida and Chelsy Davy both left Harry because his life as a royal was too much, it's no wonder he'd be as ready to cast it aside as he was when things came to a head with Meghan Markle. Not only was Harry trying not to repeat the history of what happened to Diana, but he was trying not to lose another woman he loved because of the family he was born into.
In January, Cressida was asked more directly about Harry and Meghan during an interview with The Evening Standard. When asked about being Harry's ex, Cressida was pretty direct.
"No one likes to be labeled. The hurdles for me are when I'm trying to do my work and people want to talk about him," she said pointedly.
"I work very hard and love what I do but it is still something I have to contend with."
She was then asked if she had sympathy for Meghan. "I wouldn't take a position on that because it would be a headline. Also out of respect," she replied.
"It feels like a long time ago. When it comes up it feels strange because I'm in a different place."
Cressida has also channeled her relationship with fear into a wider discussion on her podcast, Fear Itself.
"It came from thinking about fear in my own life, how it has held me back but also pushed me forward," she said.
"I have anxious thoughts and I was afraid of failure. I started writing these fears in a journal and thought it would be interesting to make a recording about them, talking to people about fear and how it can motivate them."
