Meghan Markle Made a Brutal 6-Word Dig at Drew Barrymore’s 'Clingy' Behavior: “I Hear You...”

During the segment, Markle received more attention than she had anticipated. Barrymore constantly leaned over the Duchess and embraced her in bear hugs.

Meghan Markle, who has been busy promoting her new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, made a rare return to TV on The Drew Barrymore Show. However, things took an awkward turn. Barrymore, known for clingy behavior with her celebrity guests, couldn’t stop herself from being overly touchy-feely. Markle, despite being quite expressive herself, was visibly uncomfortable and made a passive-aggressive six-word remark to remind Barrymore of her personal space.

During the segment, Markle received more attention than she had anticipated. Barrymore constantly leaned over the Duchess and embraced her in bear hugs while Markle stood stiff. Aware of the host's reputation, Markle said, “I hear you like to connect,” before softening the swipe by taking Barrymore's hand and adding that the host’s touchy nature is actually 'so sweet.' Additionally, she brought up the importance of ‘human connection’ after the pandemic, that now people crave to be held and physically show affection. She stressed, "I just think it's really important... We crave being able to go, ‘Hi, my friend, you are here! And to really be able to hold and touch and embrace someone, and so I think about that with the show."

Despite softening the six-word dig, body language experts noted that Markle’s demeanor gave away her discomfort during the episode. Judy James spoke to the Daily Mail and explained, “Barrymore’s rounded cheek, pursed lip smile signals a sense of warm friendship and affection while Meghan looks rather more distanced emotionally and keener to communicate with the camera than with her host.” Reflecting specifically on when Barrymore hugged Markle, James noted, “Meghan adopts a straight, polite, more regal-looking pose here, perhaps mirroring the kind of response she met with from the UK royals when she was busy hugging them.”

The sarcastic jab wasn't the only thing that conveyed Markle's annoyance with the veteran actress. While discussing her love for her husband, she shared the sweet vow Prince Harry made when they first started dating. She took a trip down the memory lane of her college days working as a nanny for two Irish Catholic families. As per The Blast, one of the dads had told her, “When you meet your person one day, I want him to say to you the same thing that I said to my wife when we got married, which is, I vowed to always date my wife.” Markle explained that when she started dating Harry she asked him to make the same promise, and he replied, "I vow to always date you.” The pair have been married since May 2018 and are proud parents to son Archie and daughter Lilibet.