When it comes to the dark side of being in the spotlight, The Bachelorette alum Hannah Brown can relate to Meghan Markle.
Over the past few weeks, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been on a break from their royal duties, spending time with their son and Meghan's mother over the holidays. In September, Prince Harry slammed the British tabloids over their "ruthless" campaign against his wife, while the U.S. actress-turned-Duchess of Sussex got emotional in an ITV documentary while talking about dealing with the negative press she has faced as a new U.K. royal and new mom to son Archie Harrison. She thanked the interviewer for asking about her well-being.
On the special The Year: 2019, which airs on ABC on Sunday, Brown, who herself faced media scrutiny over her love life even after the cameras stopped rolling, said she found the duchess' answer incredibly "relatable."
"I'm not a royal or anything, but I kind of understood that, because when people watch you and are enamored and so obsessed, and think that they know you, but don't really ask how you are, it feels really good when somebody does," the reality star said. "And that you're able to have that conversation."
"Whether it's with a microphone in your face or if it's just a friend having coffee with you. It's really nice for somebody to ask, 'How are you? Are you OK?'" she continued. "Even though she got criticism, which I think is ridiculous, people have to remember that she's human and it's OK to have human emotion and to express that. It doesn't mean she's ungrateful, it's just being a real human and saying that sometimes life's hard."
In November, fellow reality star Kim Kardashian had also expressed empathy with Meghan and Harry regarding their battle with media scrutiny.
"I don't think anyone can really understand what that's like except for them, but I think as I'm older and as I have kids and what I would want for them is just the safest place," she said on Australian TV show The Sunday Project. "I can definitely empathize with their need for having a secure, safe place and taking time for themselves and having privacy when they need it."