Meghan Markle's 2016 birthday post may have hinted at Prince Harry romance

As Meghan Markle prepares to celebrate her 44th birthday on August 4, a look back at her earlier reflections offers a glimpse into a time just before her life changed dramatically.

In 2016, on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, Meghan penned a post about turning 35, a moment that may have subtly foreshadowed her relationship with Prince Harry. 

Though their romance wasn’t public at the time, the couple had reportedly gone on their first date just a month prior, on July 3, 2016, at Soho House in London. 

That meeting led to back-to-back dates and a summer getaway to Botswana.

Reflecting on her birthday, Meghan wrote: “I am feeling so incredibly joyful right now, so grateful and content that all I could wish for is more of the same. More surprises, more adventure, more opportunities to grow, more days filled with giggles and cheeky jokes, more delicious meals, and more inspiration. Always more inspiration.”

Some fans have since interpreted this joyful tone, and her use of the word “cheeky,” a Britishism, as a subtle nod to a budding royal romance.

Meghan had also shared a more introspective post for her 33rd birthday in 2014. 

“My 20s were brutal - a constant battle with myself, judging my weight, my style, my desire to be as cool/as hip/as smart/as ‘whatever’ as everyone else,” she said. 

Recalling her experience of being biracial in a racially divided high school, she added: “My high school had cliques: the Black girls and white girls, the Filipino and the Latina girls. Being biracial, I fell somewhere in between.”

In that same post, Meghan recounted a pivotal moment at 24, when a casting director told her: “You need to know that you’re enough. Less makeup, more Meghan.” It became a mantra she said still echoes in her mind.

“That five pounds lost won’t make you happier, that more makeup won’t make you prettier… You are enough just as you are,” she wrote to her readers. 

“I want you to be kind to yourself… to find your happiness.”

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