Defiant Meghan Markle hits back at Harry divorce rumours to prove 'marriage is solid'

Given there was little more than a few whispers that the Duchess of Sussex would join the Duke in Canada for the Invictus Games, their very public kiss and affectionate embraces were possibly not what the world expected. But after weeks of speculation surrounding her new Netflix series and talk of a post-divorce book, a source tells us that Meghan, 43, has a marriage plan and was determined to send a very clear message to her doubters – she’s not going anywhere.

The couple haven’t been seen together at a public event since their four-day visit to Colombia in August, but from the moment they were spotted clutching hands in the stands at the star-studded opening ceremony on 8 February, they didn’t shy away from commanding attention.

“Meghan is clearly doing her best to show to the world that she and Harry are stronger than ever and are a genuinely happy couple,” our source claims. “Meghan knows the Invictus Games are Harry’s biggest triumph and she wants to be – and be seen to be – a big part of it too. She wants to be the supportive partner – as well as taking every photo opportunity that comes her way!”

The Games started at the end of what has likely been a particularly stressful time for the couple, with Meghan’s Netflix show With Love, Meghan being pulled from schedules last minute, and claims that her “team” had once mooted the idea of a “post-divorce book” which would’ve been penned by Meghan if it ever came to life.

But the biennial Invictus Games, which Harry, 40, founded in London in 2014, is seen as a safe space for the couple, especially as it’s where they enjoyed their first public appearance together as boyfriend and girlfriend back in 2017. Meghan has been by Harry’s side at every Games since that Toronto event, but this year they appeared particularly tactile, packing on the PDA for the world to see.

And the pair were clearly happy and relaxed when they dined at an Indian restaurant in Vancouver with singer Michael Bublé and his wife Luisana Lopilato at Vancouver’s Vij’s restaurant, following the Saturday night opening ceremony of the Games.

Restaurant owner Vikram Vij later revealed that they were “very friendly”, with Meghan even opening up about her food cravings when pregnant with her children Archie, five, and Lilibet, three. Vikram said, “Meghan said that during her pregnancy, she had eaten only Indian food and I told her it was the best thing for her!”

Our source claims Harry and Meghan’s loved-up behaviour at the Games wasn’t an accident, telling us, “Meghan is very aware of the persistent divorce rumours and wants to quash them. It’s been tough but she’s determined to make this work – she feels it’s her time to show the world that she’s a good person, does lots for charity, and her marriage to Harry is as solid as a rock.”

During the Games, in what would be considered a huge no-no if they were still working royals, Harry and Meghan not only held hands and shared a few secret jokes, they also locked lips. The passionate kiss wasn’t exactly the normal actions of a couple in trouble and heading for divorce – a subject which is at the heart of many rumours about the Sussexes.

This divorce speculation ramped up recently when Vanity Fair published a lengthy story focused on Meghan, and included details of an alleged old rumour that Meghan’s team once “had a conversation with a publishing house to gauge interest in the idea for a potential book” about post-divorce. The article referred to it as a “notion of a book” but said the publishing house was asked that if there ever was one, would they be interested in having it. It also states no offer was ever made.

The former senior working royals, who left their roles in 2020, have generally kept schtum when it comes to the questions hanging over their marriage, but Harry did comment on them recently, saying, “We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it’s just like, ‘What?‘ It’s hard to keep up with, but that’s why you just sort of ignore it.”

While they might ignore the rumours around them, there was no ignoring their beaming faces as they rubbed shoulders with Team UK, and when Harry beckoned Meghan onto the main stage with him on day three of the nine-day event. But body language expert Adrianne Carter tells us that while the couple put on a defiant display of marital bliss, they actually behaved very differently to one another.

“Meghan’s whole body language seems like ‘overkill’,” she says. “Her overly-exaggerated body language maybe wants to send the message that, ‘He’s mine, we’re closer than ever and we’re very happy together.’ But because it’s so exaggerated, it actually sends a different message, however, of someone that’s playing up to the cameras and actually makes the observer wonder what is really going on. Harry, as usual, seems to be acting in a natural way. He is who he is and seems mostly comfortable in himself.”

The pair’s behaviour also didn’t go unnoticed by royal watchers online, with one person commenting, “This is not the Markles’ show, and their attempts to show everyone how loved-up they are.” Another echoed, “Look everybody, we are happily married. Look, we’re both playing around smiling and touching and kissing. We must be happily married.”

There was no doubt also an air of relief around the couple as their appearance came shortly after Donald Trump did something of a U-turn on the long-running issue of Harry’s US visa, which stemmed from him admitting in his memoir Spare that he’d taken drugs in his younger years.

Despite saying previously that he “wouldn’t protect” Harry if there were any irregularities with his visa application, Trump said in an interview before the Invictus Games ceremony that he would “leave [Harry] alone”.

Trump wasn’t all compliments though, and couldn’t help but throw shade their way adding, “He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible.” But if it’s a choice between name calling and seeing her husband deported from the country they’ve made their home, we suspect Meghan would choose the former any day.

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