Meghan Markle Just Revealed Exactly When She Was "Reduced to a Bimbo"

Every week on Meghan Markle's Spotify podcast Archetypes, she invites guests to "investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back." This week, the Duchess of Sussex invited an unlikely celebrity guest onto the show, Paris Hilton.

"In this candid and eye opening episode, Meghan breaks down the labels of 'Bimbo' and 'Dumb Blonde' and explores why brains and beauty in a woman have been historically pitted against each other. To delve deep, Meghan connects with Paris Hilton in a surprising and revealing conversation, as Paris opens up about the trope that defined her, how she at times played into it, and how she is now coming into her own," the synopsis of the episode reads. In it, Meghan also reveals that she was once "reduced to a bimbo," and reveals exactly how it went down.

Meghan revealed that one of her first big breaks was when she was cast as a "briefcase girl" on the hit show Deal or No Deal in 2006. While she was grateful for the job, as it helped pay the bills, she maintains it hit her self-esteem hard.

She Went From Interning at the US Embassy to Being a "Briefcase Girl"

"I had also studied international relations in college, and there were times I was on set at Deal or No Deal and thinking back to my time working as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina in Buenos Aires and being in the motorcade with the security of treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain," she said to Hilton. "Here, I was being valued for something quite the opposite."

She added that while on the show, she and all the models were given spray tan vouchers every week. Prior to shooting, the models were lined up so they could get their lashes and extensions put in and their bras padded. "There was a very cookie-cutter idea of precisely what we should look like. It was solely about beauty—and not necessarily about brains," she continued. 

She Says a Woman Yelled at Her to "Suck It In"

"When I look back at that time, I'll never forget this one detail: Moments before we'd get on stage, there was a woman who ran the show and she'd be there backstage, and I can still hear her. She couldn't properly pronounce my last name at the time and I knew who she was talking to because she'd go, 'Markle, suck it in! Markle, suck it in!'"

She added that while she was "thankful" for that opportunity, she wasn't as appreciative of how it made her feel, "which was not smart," she said. "And by the way, I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me, but that wasn't the focus of why we were there. I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage. I didn't like being forced to be all looks and little substance, and that's how it felt for me at the time—being reduced to this specific archetype: the word 'bimbo.'"

Her Former Co-Star Disputes Meghan's Claims

However, one of her fellow Deal or No Deal briefcase girls turned Real Housewives of Atlanta alum is disputing Meghan's claim. "Now Meghan…" Jordan said in an Instagram Story, "For clarity — yes getting a MODELING GIG on a game show isn't necessarily about your intellect BUT every show the executive producers picked 5 models with the most outgoing and fun personalities to place mics on who they KNEW would engage with the contestants," she said. She also vehemently denied that the show mistreated the girls. "Deal or No Deal NEVER treated us like bimbos. We got so many opportunities because of that show, Fremantle and @nbc," Jordan insisted.

"This isn't a [sic] attack on Meghan cause Lord knows I've been defending this woman in the media for years and I still WILL but I just didn't want any misunderstanding about the climate and environment on the Deal or No Deal set. And I'm especially protective of @howiemandel who was nothing but kind and respectful to ALL 26 of us," Jordan concluded.