When you’re dating a member of the royal family, there are a lot of perks: skipping the line at customs, and you know, private jets, public popularity and — presumably — scones, jam and cream on demand. But there’s also a very large downside: it affects all those who surround you.
And we’re guessing Patrick J. Adams and Meghan Markle, who has been dating Prince Harry for over a year, know a thing or two about the last.
In August, Patrick, who plays ‘Mike Ross’ opposite Meghan’s ‘Rachel Zane,’ shared a throwback photo of the princess-in-waiting, as she has become known, in celebration of her birthday.
“Ross and Rachel – the next generation,” he captioned the shot.
The photo, which showed the actress plant a purely-platonic kiss on her co-star’s cheek, quickly went viral. And it wasn’t long until the post took on a life of it’s own…
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It wasn’t long until the “innocent” photo was taken out of context. Image via Instagram/PatrickJAdams.
“I woke up in the morning and realized ‘Oh, yeah. I live in a world where you can’t post things about Meghan,” Patrick, who is married to Pretty Little Liars’ Troian Bellisario, told Esquire.com. “I had this onslaught of people retweeting the thing, people thinking it was a recent picture, and I just thought, ‘What the hell is going on?'”
He decided to quit social media as a result of the firestorm, telling the publication he would “over think” every post he sent out into the ether.
“It was such an innocent moment of sentimentality that was twisted into something totally different. It made me feel like… why put myself through this?” he said. “We’re like brother and sister, it’s not like it was lurid or anything, but it just became a story that people wanted to talk about.”
WATCH: Meghan Markle’s breakthrough role was on the legal drama Suits.
Of course, Meghan continues to maintain a low profile generally about her celebrity — she hasn’t posted on her Instagram in five months and not too long ago bid farewell to her lifestyle website The Tig.
But the passionate humanitarian recently took a huge step forward into the limelight with her very own cover for the iconic glossy magazine Vanity Fair.
In the accompanying article, the 36-year-old spoke about the attention that has come with dating royalty.
“It has its challenges, and it comes in waves—some days it can feel more challenging than others… And right out of the gate it was surprising the way things changed. But I still have this support system all around me, and, of course, my boyfriend’s support.”
Prince Harry and Meghan, to much fanfare, confirmed they were dating over a year ago.
She also opened up about her relationship with the beloved prince.
“I can tell you that at the end of the day I think it’s really simple… We’re two people who are really happy and in love. We were very quietly dating for about six months before it became news, and I was working during that whole time, and the only thing that changed was people’s perception. Nothing about me changed. I’m still the same person that I am, and I’ve never defined myself by my relationship.”
“We’re a couple. We’re in love. I’m sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy.”
She added: “Personally, I love a great love story.”
Us too!
