Meghan Markle Discusses “Deal or No Deal” Experience

In the latest season of her Netflix series “With Love, Meghan,” Meghan Markle has reflected on her brief time as a contestant on “Deal or No Deal.”

Prior to her well-known role in “Suits,” Markle participated in the 2006-2007 NBC reality show as a “briefcase model,” sharing the screen with Chrissy Teigen.

Her role mainly involved showcasing the cash amounts that contestants were vying for while she was still trying to carve out a name for herself in the entertainment industry.

Markle reminisced, expressing how far she’s come since then. “I was thinking about how long ago that was; it feels like a different life now,” she shared with Teigen in the second episode of the series.

Markle recalled, “I remember having to stand next to each other, with our eyelashes just right.”

During their conversation, Markle also guided other former models in crafting floral gems for her “Craft Burn” segment, adding a personal touch to the moment.

Teigen reminded Markle about how, after wrapping the show, they’d jokingly leave their false eyelashes “in their ziplock bags.”

“I was really glad to have health insurance,” said Markle, who is now 44. “I mean, I was just grateful for that job.”

“Look how far you’ve come!” she added excitedly.

Teigen referred to Markle as the show’s “backup girl,” to which Markle humorously noted, “I mean, I left the show, and shortly after, you became famous. I was just like, ‘Wow, look at her on the cover of Sports Illustrated!’”

Teigen remarked on the camaraderie among the models, “We weren’t competitive. We were all in awe and just happy to be part of that Hollywood scene.”

Markle has previously shared her mixed feelings about her time on “Deal or No Deal.”

In her old podcast “Archetypes” from 2021, she reflected on the experience and mentioned feeling objectified, although she was thankful for the opportunity. Yet, there was a lingering sense of dissatisfaction: “I didn’t feel smart.”

“There was a very cookie-cutter expectation of how we should look,” she explained. “It was about beauty, sure, but not necessarily about intellect. I mean, I was among smart women, but that wasn’t what we were there for, and that left a weird feeling.”

However, another model from the show, Donna Feldman, countered Markle’s perspective in 2022, stating that the models were not treated in the way Markle described. Feldman argued against the notion of objectification, offering a different viewpoint on their experiences.