The two Hallmark movies Meghan Markle starred in before meeting Prince Harry
She kept them very quiet!It’s well-known that Meghan Markle starred in legal drama Suits prior to meeting her husband Prince Harry, but did you know she’s also appeared in two Hallmark movies?
Behind the role of ambitious attorney Rachel Zane, it turns out the Duchess of Sussex was hiding a guilty pleasure for a feel-good family romance, appearing in not one but two Hallmark Channel originals, When Sparks Fly in 2014 and Dater’s Handbook in 2016.
Here’s everything you need to know…
Meghan Markle’s Hallmark movies
In 2014, Meghan took on the lead role in When Sparks Fly. She portrays the sweet Amy Peterson of Lakeside, Washington, who loves her best friend Sammie and helping out at her family’s fireworks business.
She also has a devoted boyfriend, Hank, who’s all ready to propose to her…when suddenly she lands the journalism job of her dreams and ditches him for Chicago. There, she upgrades to Phil, who takes her to French restaurants and talks about opera.
Meanwhile, back at home, Hank’s now moved on with Sammie, and they’re getting ready to tie the knot?! Cue Amy’s big epiphany that she’s chased the wrong dream and a frantic attempt to win Hank back before it’s too late.
Conveniently, Sammie realises she actually cares more about her 4th of July themed wedding than the man she’s marrying. And even more conveniently, it turns out her 4th of July obsession is shared by none other than Phil, so it’s a happy ending for everyone!
Meghan’s role in Dater’s Handbook
Two years later, Meghan returned to Hallmark as Dater’s Handbook’s Cassandra Barber. Cass is a smart businesswoman who can’t seem to find the right man. Her boyfriend of two years, Pete, even feeds her honey forgetting she’s allergic.
But when he refuses to be her plus-one to an employee’s wedding, she finds herself sat next to Robert, who has also come alone. Turns out the two of them have loads in common, bonding over their love of cake and even bumping into each other later on walking almost identical dogs.
Still, Cass continues dating other questionable men, convincing herself she’s the problem after reading relationship manual The Dater’s Handbook.
But eventually, with a bit of help from her mum, she realises her dream man is right in front of her.
‘That’s what I wanna watch!’
In the lead up to the release of Dater’s Handbook, Meghan revealed her guilty pleasure for Hallmark movies in an interview.
“I think Hallmark is such an amazing network to work for,” she said. “It’s just really heartwarming and affirming and validating. Especially in this day and age, it’s so nice for families to be able to watch programming together and with stories like this it keeps it really light and easy and makes you really feel good. You know when you have a long day? That’s what I wanna watch!”
Meghan has had many movie roles during her acting career, including some alongside big Hollywood names.
Read more: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry warned of ‘make or break’ Christmas: ‘There’s no easy solution’
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