On Sunday, March 7, the highly anticipated interview between Oprah Winfrey and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry aired on CBS. The couple decided to step back from Britain’s royal family last year, and they have been quite private about their personal lives since then. But, in their interview with Oprah, they released a lot of shocking information about why they ultimately decided to end their roles as senior members of the royal family.

Before watching this interview, I didn’t really have much of an opinion on Markle and the Prince leaving the royal family. The media made it sound as though it was Markle’s idea, calling it a “Megxit,” so I thought it was kind of strange that she would marry a prince if she didn’t want to be a part of the royal family in the first place. Many people were saying “she knew what she was getting herself into,” and I agreed. However, after listening to what she had to say Oprah, it seems that was not the case at all.

Markle revealed that she didn’t know much about what it meant to be a royal before marrying Prince Harry. Her whole life completely changed, and the media was one of the biggest adjustments for her. Everything she said or did got reported by the media for the entire world to see. And, oftentimes things would get falsely reported about her, such as the famous story that she made her sister-in-law Kate Middleton cry. Since Markle became a working royal, the media has always seemed to be against her.

The royal family promised Markle that they would protect her. This meant, if false information about her was released to the public, they would clear it up. However, as more and more lies were reported about Markle, the “Institution” (royal family) made no attempt to fix things.

Markle started to feel even more unwelcomed by the royal family after getting pregnant with her and Prince Harry’s son Archie. She told Oprah that there had been concerns in the Institution about how dark her baby’s skin would be. Because of this, Markle did not feel the royal family fully accepted her as a black woman. The family also told her and Harry that Archie would not be given the “prince” title, despite being the son of a prince. Although they were not given a clear reason as to why, there have been some skepticisms that it has to do with his race.

Between the lies from the media and the racism in the Institution, Markle had started to become depressed. She revealed that her mental health got so bad that she contemplated suicide. At that point, she told Harry, who went to the Institution for help. But they denied her any help with her mental health, as they felt it would make the royal family look bad. After that, the couple knew their only choice was to leave.

I 100% agree with and support Markle and Prince Harry’s decision to step down from the royal family. I think anyone in their position would have done the same thing. Princess Diana, Harry’s mother, died in a car crash caused by paparazzi following her. He told Oprah that he was scared something similar would happen again if they did not get away. I think he could be right, as Markle’s every move is already hounded by the media.

I am happy for Markle and Harry. I have no idea how someone could ever live even a remotely good life in such a toxic environment. By looking at their stories of the Institution, as well as past ones (such as Princess Diana’s), it’s clear that something needs to be changed. And I think the couple’s public interview with Oprah about their decision to leave was the perfect way to open the door to start making that change.