Meghan Markle joked that she has to “rethink” her parenting style if she wants her children to be more “self-sufficient” in the future.
On Tuesday, Markle sat down with Mellody Hobson, the chairwoman of Starbucks and co-CEO of Ariel Investments, for her Spotify podcast “Archetypes.”
Hobson, 53, shared her experience growing up as the youngest of six children raised by a single mother in Chicago and revealed that her mother raised her kids to go after what they wanted. At one point during their conversation, the Princeton University alum recounted how she looked for her own orthodontist when she was a child.
“I went to the appointment by myself,” Hobson said of investigating braces in the sixth grade, Us Weekly reported. “I had these horrible teeth. I was in sixth grade. … I asked all of my friends who their orthodontist was and I called and made an appointment.”
Hobson remembered being alone in the exam room as the doctor explained to her that she would need braces and even laid out a payment plan for her.
“He told me it was $2,500 — he’s telling this to a 12-year-old. … And he gave me a payment plan,” she shared.
The Duchess of Sussex was impressed by the former Dreamworks Animation chairwoman’s story and joked that she has a lot of work to do if she wants her children with Prince Harry, 3-year-old Archie, and 1-year-old Lilibet, to be as self-sufficient.
“I have to rethink my parenting style. If that’s what yields you, then I’ve really got to up my game with our kids being self-sufficient,” Markle said.
The former “Suits” star has been giving fans a glimpse of their family life in California on her podcast. In a previous episode, she praised Prince Harry for helping her with their kids every morning.
“I’m sure it’ll only get more chaotic as they get older,” Markle said of their morning routine as a family. “But for me, it’s, you know, both monitors on for the kids to hear them, always up with Lili, get her downstairs, then a half hour later, Archie’s up. I start doing his lunchbox right before he’s up while I have her, getting her a little nibble. My husband’s helping me get him downstairs.”
She added, “I make breakfast for all three of them. It’s very important to me. I love doing it. To me, it just feels like the greatest way to start the morning.”
In another episode in which she discussed how her stint on “Deal or No Deal” made her feel “objectified” and “reduced to a bimbo,” the mother of two shared her hopes for her daughter Lilibet in the future.
“I want my Lili to want to be educated, and want to be smart, and to pride herself on those things,” Markle said.