What You Didn’t Know About Meghan Markle’s ‘Deal or No Deal’ Days
Alright, let’s talk about Meghan Markle’s humble beginnings—because clearly, you need a refresher on how the Duchess of Sussex got her start before she became a royal drama queen. In the second season of her Netflix series, *With Love, Meghan*, the former actress revisited her early career days as one of the so-called “briefcase girls” on *Deal or No Deal*, the early-2000s NBC game show that was basically just a glitzy cash lottery with models.
For those of you who were too busy watching *America’s Next Top Model* to catch the show, *Deal or No Deal* was hosted by Howie Mandel and featured a bunch of scantily clad women—yes, including a young Chrissy Teigen and Meghan Markle—holding briefcases filled with varying amounts of money. Contestants had to choose which models to eliminate in hopes of keeping the briefcase with the highest cash prize. The show was peak early aughts, and Markle was very much a part of it.
In the latest episode of her Netflix series, Markle and Teigen reminisced about their time on the show, complete with false lashes, health insurance excitement, and standing in line for beauty maintenance. “I was thinking about how many moons ago we crossed paths and that was past life, that was good old Deal or No Deal,” Markle told Teigen, who was a “backup girl” on the show. The two even laughed about the ritual of putting on false lashes before taping and then storing them in Ziploc bags afterward. Because nothing says glamour like sharing eyelash storage with a dozen other models.
Markle also admitted she was thrilled just to have health insurance during that time. “I was like, ‘I get health insurance with this job,’” she said, probably while sipping artisanal kombucha in her rustic craft barn. “How far we’ve come,” she added, likely while hand-making pressed flower jewelry for her next royal-approved lifestyle brand.
Teigen, now a household name thanks to her work with *Sports Illustrated* and her husband John Legend, recalled how quickly her own career took off after the show. “I left the show, and then like a year or so later, you got famous,” Markle said, clearly impressed. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, [Teigen] is on the cover of *Sports Illustrated,* she was just sitting back there on the little chair, waiting…’”
But it’s not all nostalgia and laughter. Back in 2021, Markle opened up about her *Deal or No Deal* experience on her podcast *Archetypes*, revealing that she felt the show was more about looks than brains. “There was a very cookie-cutter idea of precisely what we should look like,” she said, describing the uniformity of hair extensions, spray tans, and bra padding. “It was solely about beauty, and not necessarily about brains,” she added, explaining that while she was grateful for the job, it left her with a pit in her stomach.
Not everyone agreed with her assessment, though. Donna Feldman, another former *Deal or No Deal* model, pushed back in 2022, telling *The Post* that Markle’s portrayal of the experience was exaggerated. “None of the models were treated like hussies,” Feldman said, offering a different perspective on the show’s behind-the-scenes vibe.
So, whether you see Markle’s time on *Deal or No Deal* as a stepping stone or a cautionary tale about Hollywood’s treatment of women, one thing is clear: the Duchess has come a long way—from false lashes and briefcases to royal titles and Netflix deals. Just don’t ask her to line up for eyelash glue again.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and The New York Post, Netflix, The Post’s royal family live blog
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