LisaRaye McCoy opened up to her “Cocktails with Queens” co-hosts about the parallels she noticed between her own experiences while married to the former Prime Minister of Turks and Caicos and Meghan Markle‘s not-so-warm royal welcome to the British monarchy.
The “Single Ladies” actress and Michael Misick were wed from 2006-2008, and hearing Meghan recount the difficulties she faced while transitioning into life as a royal during her sit-down with Prince Harry and Oprah on Sunday, March 7, seemed to really hit home for McCoy.
Beginning at the 18:45 mark of the interview, co-host Claudia Jordan asked LisaRaye to share her perspective because of her marital history, and the “All of Us” actress immediately became emotional as she expressed empathy for Markle. “I get it. I understand,” she said while choking up. “I absolutely understand when she said that she had to turn over her passport, and her keys, she stopped driving, she had to have security, and part of your life becomes tunnel vision.”
LisaRaye went on to explain that when your hopes for making such a major change don’t match up to the reality of the situation, the impact permeates throughout every aspect of your life. “You leave all that you know,” she continued. “You leave all your friends, you leave all your family behind for this whole new world that you want to be accepted in and that you have turned your back on all that you know to become this and when you’re not accepted, that’s a big ass blow. Not only to your ego, to your self-esteem, but to your life and what your commitment was to your husband to start this brand new life in his place.”
As the former First Lady of Turks and Caicos, McCoy understands that her own experience was on a much smaller scale than what Markle has faced, but maintains that the emotional rollercoaster that they both were taken on is still very similar.
“What I love is that [Harry] love her enough to say ‘Let’s go.’…But to be someplace where you feel you’re not supported, you’re not accepted, you’re not fulfilled, you feel no love, and you gotta hide it, and you gotta be ‘on,’ come on, you didn’t sign up for that,” she said. “I didn’t sign up for that either and although mine was just a little smidget of hers, I identify with what she’s saying and it’s sad. I’m glad that they got out. The healing has not even began, I don’t believe because she’s letting it out just now. I’m so glad that she has the courage and her husband to be able to stand in their truth and to be able to say it because this is 2021. We’re not back in the 1800s anymore. You cannot rule the same way.”
The co-hosts, including Syleena Johnson and Vivica A. Fox, were on one accord in their support of Markle. Fox made sure to give “light-skinned Harry” his props as well for the way he stood up for his wife and son.
On March 9, Buckingham Palace responded to the interview with a brief statement, saying that the family is “saddened” to learn the “full extent” of the couples’ challenges and that the “issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning” and “will be addressed by the family privately.” The release closed by stating that “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much-loved family members.”
