Meghan Markle’s former Suits co-star has shared details about his recent reunion with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Wendell Pierce, who played the father of Meghan’s character Rachel Zane on Suits, recently opened up about his relationship with the royal couple. Speaking to People at the 2024 Tony Awards in New York City on June 16, the 60-year-old actor revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan were “very much in love” when he saw the pair last year.
“When [Meghan] came into town, she got an award last year, had a chance to say hello and wish her and Prince Harry well and wish the children well,” he told the outlet. “They look very much in love and were very happy, so that’s the most important thing.”
Pierce added that working with Meghan on the USA network legal drama – which aired from 2011 to 2019 – was “a blast” and revealed that he’s reunited with the 42-year-old duchess a “few times.”
“I’ve gotten to see her just a few times since, and we’ve been able to reminisce and so it’s real, we have fond memories of working together,” the Wire actor said.
Pierce’s comments come nearly one year after Suits made its debut on Netflix last summer, gaining an onslaught of new fans and a record 26.5 billion minutes watched in just eight weeks. Before she married Harry in 2018, Meghan starred as paralegal Rachel Zane on Suits for seven seasons. Her final episode saw her character finally tie the knot with Mike Ross, played by Patrick J Adams. Shortly after she wrapped filming on her final episode in November 2017, Meghan and Harry announced their engagement that same month.
When asked about the renewed popularity of Suits on Netflix, the Tony Award winner admitted that the record-breaking viewership did “surprise” him, before adding: “We finished the show almost eight years ago, and so to have this resurgence is pretty amazing.”
A Los Angeles-based spinoff of Suits was announced earlier this year. According to Deadline, the series is centered around a new character named Ted Black – a former federal prosecutor from New York who “has reinvented himself representing the most powerful clients in Los Angeles.” Black will be played by Stephen Amell, best known for his work on the superhero series Arrow, with other notable cast members including Josh McDermitt of The Walking Dead.
Unsurprisingly, the announcement led many fans to wonder if Meghan will make her return to acting with the Suits spinoff. Although the mother of two has not been officially confirmed for the show, the possibility that she could appear was hinted at by her former co-star at the 2024 Golden Globes.
Adams teased to Entertainment Tonight: “Sure. Mike and Rachel in Seattle. They gotta come down to LA. They gotta fix some stuff.”
“She’s pretty popular right now,” he then joked of Meghan’s former status as a senior working royal. “Did you hear about Meghan? I’ll tell you later.”
“If we got the phone call, if I got the phone call, I’m ready to suit up again,” Adams added. “I love the show, I love the character. And I loved working with all these people.”
These days, Meghan may be more focused on launching her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, than she is on returning to acting. The duchess has begun to soft launch a limited edition line of jams and a collection of dog biscuits to her close friends and influencers as part of the American Riviera Orchard roll-out.
Meghan unveiled her new business venture on Instagram back in March. She appeared to announce the launch of American Riviera Orchard with a video of herself picking flowers and cooking in a kitchen, set to “I Wish You Love” by Nancy Wilson. The bio for the brand’s Instagram page simply read, “by Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex” and “Established 2024”.
Along with the social media launch, the website for American Riviera Orchard simply showed the brand’s script-like logo with “Montecito” - the neighborhood where she and Harry relocated after stepping down from the royal family in 2020 - written under it.
American Riviera Orchard will reportedly focus on home, garden, food, and general lifestyle content. The brand is expected to sell a variety of home goods, such as cookbooks, foods, and kitchenware. Sources have also claimed that Meghan is filming an American Riviera Orchard cooking show as part of her and Harry’s multi-million dollar deal with Netflix, which ends in 2025.
