Meghan Markle almost joined The Bachelor to find a husband before meeting Harry

02 March 2024 , 16:39

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Meghan could have been one of 32 women competing for the romantic attention of a single bachelor (Image: getty)

Years before she met Prince Harry, Meghan Markle “seriously” considered applying to be on the dating show, The Bachelor.

Life could have turned out very differently for 42-year-old Meghan as it has been revealed that she could have been on our screens competing for an engagement ring on ABC’s The Bachelor. The hit US dating show features 32 women vying for the romantic interest of a single bachelor. The program sees the beautiful contestants whittled down one by one until the final when the male heartthrob proposes to the lucky chosen lady.

Mike Fliess, the creator of The Bachelor franchise, wrote on X that he had been giving the go-ahead to reveal Meghan’s near-appearance on his show. The consideration is said to have come before Meghan’s rise to fame as Rachel Zane in the long-running legal drama Suits.

The Duchess previously appeared as a suitcase model on Deal or No Deal (NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

But the experience made her feel like a "bimbo" (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

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Describing the shocking news, Mike wrote: “Just got the go-ahead to reveal this shocking fact. Right after she left Deal or No Deal, Meghan seriously considered applying to be on #TheBachelor !!! #slidingdoors.”

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The Duchess famously starred in Deal or No Deal as a briefcase model in 2006 and 2007. Although she has never spoken about considering an appearance on The Bachelor, Meghan has revealed what it was like to appear on the game show and why she decided to quit.

Hit US show The Bachelor sees 32 women compete for the romantic attention of one single man (Disney)

Speaking on her Spotify podcast Archetypes in 2022, the mother of two said she had been treated like a “bimbo” on Deal or No Deal and the show made her feel like she was “not smart”. She said: “I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance.”

Meghan also described how it felt when she and the other models were forced to “line up” for beauty treatments. She said: “We were even given spray-tan vouchers each week because there was a very cookie-cutter idea of precisely what we should look like. It was solely about our beauty.”

The Duchess went on to add that the show’s sole focus on her physical appearance left a bad taste in her mouth. “I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me, but that wasn’t the focus of why we were there and I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach,” she described.

Connie Bowker