15 Lessons Meghan Markle Learned From Her First Divorce She Won't Repeat With Harry

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The public seems to be completely obsessed with the British Royal Family and there has always been quite a lot of attention on Princess Diana's youngest child, Prince Harry. From his military service to his adventure-seeking ways to the infamous nude photos from the Las Vegas hotel suite, Prince Harry has seemed far more like a regular celebrity than someone that's in line for the throne. After Prince William was wed to Kate Middleton, even more focus was put on Prince Harry to see who would become the next future princess to walk down the aisle. While he dated a few different women over the years, it's Meghan Markle that has ultimately won his heart.

While Markle is seen as an incredibly beautiful woman, there are a number of aspects of her life that have raised a few eyebrows. Not only is she not British, but this American actress has also been married before. There has been quite a lot of scrutiny regarding her first marriage and people want to know everything they can about this beautiful divorcee that seems to have done the impossible by taming the infamously wild, Prince Harry. Markle's previous marriage was to the acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker and manager, Trevor Engelson, and it was quite short-lived. This two-year marriage wasn't exactly the longest seen in Hollywood but it definitely proved to have a number of life lessons for Markle. Check out our list of the 15 lessons Meghan Markle learned from her first divorce and see how she won't be repeating these same mistakes with Prince Harry.

Strike While The Iron’s Hot

One of the biggest differences between the relationship Meghan Markle had with her first husband and Prince Harry is the duration of the time that they dated. When Markle first began dating her first husband, Trevor Engelson, back in 2004, the two seemed to have an inordinate amount of time dating prior to getting engaged. The two dated for six years and got engaged in 2010. The relationship ultimately didn't work out, so Meghan definitely learned a valuable lesson from this failed relationship.

In her relationship with Prince Harry, it seems like things have been on a major fast track.

The two were first rumored to be dating in October 2016 and then announced their engagement in November 2017. She may have taken it extremely slow during her first marriage-worthy relationship but she didn't make that same mistake with Prince Harry.

Escapades Prior To Walking Down The Aisle

Now that Meghan Markle is set to marry Prince Harry, there is a tremendous amount of digging into her past. People seem to be obsessed with her first marriage to Trevor Engelson and more details have emerged from the wedding. One of the things that the public has learned is that prior to the actual wedding day, there were some drinking games played by the couple and their friends.

This photo was released, showing Markle engaging in a wheelbarrow race with her friends and it's not exactly showing her in the best light.

It definitely isn't a look that's suitable for a woman that is soon-to-be part of the British Royal Family and she undoubtedly learned from this mistake. For this new wedding, she will most definitely want to keep her wits about her and she won't be getting photographed anytime soon performing wheelbarrow tricks while engaging in a drinking game.

Beach Wedding Setting

When Trevor Engelson and Meghan Markle were choosing a location for their wedding, they didn't opt for something traditional or spiritual. Instead, they chose a party location for a destination wedding in Jamaica. The wedding was held at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rio, Jamaica, which isn't exactly the most luxurious locales. Previous guests that attended that first wedding extravaganza have released statements about how quick the actual ceremony was and said,

"The ceremony was over very quickly, in about 15 minutes. Then everyone hit the dance floor. It seemed they all just wanted to party."

This party wedding may have cheapened the entire experience of devoting their lives to one another and stating vows of "til death do us part." She won't be making that same mistake with Prince Harry and it's safe to say that the wedding won't just be an excuse to drink and dance in Jamaica.

Simple White Dress

Because Meghan Markle's first wedding to Trevor Engleson was set at a beach location, she chose a dress that was perfect for the casual environment. Many celebrities have opted for a beach wedding and it seems like all of the dresses have looked similar. There is typically a light and flowing material and a strapless design to help with the heat of the tropical location. That's exactly how Markle's looked, with a tube top cut and a sparkling embellishment beneath the bust. While she may have thought it was perfect at the time, she probably cringes when she looks back at the photos. She looks like she's wearing a regular dress off the rack and it's definitely not a standout look for a celebrity wedding. She won't be making that same mistake for her wedding with Prince Harry and the world is waiting with bated breath to see the extravagant wedding dress she will inevitably wear for her royal wedding.

Changing Religious Beliefs

When Meghan Markle married Trevor Engelson, the wedding needed to be altered a bit to include the traditional Jewish "chair dance" to pay homage to Engelson's beliefs. Oftentimes, when someone of the Jewish faith chooses to wed someone outside of the faith, there is a change of religion. Anyone that has rooted for Charlotte's relationship with Harry on Sex and the City, knows that many women have opted to change their religion in order to move forward with their Jewish husband.

Yet, Markle didn't change her Christian beliefs and didn't decide to convert. She's not making that same mistake with Prince Harry and recently was baptized into the Church of England during a private ceremony at Chapel Royal at St. James' Palace.

Although the baptism wasn't required in order to marry Prince Harry, she reportedly did it as a mark of respect to the Queen.

Super Short Wedding Guest List

During Meghan Markle's first wedding to Trevor Engelson, the wedding was really small and intimate. That's often the case when it's a destination wedding since not everyone has hundreds and hundreds of family and friends that can fly out to Jamaica and take the better part of a week as a vacation. That first ceremony only had about 100 guests, which is very small for an intimate wedding and extremely small for a celebrity wedding. That ultra-small size may have lessened the enormity of what she was embarking on when entering this marriage with her first husband.

She won't be making that same mistake with Prince Harry and people are already speculating on the enormity of the wedding guest list.

Everyone and anyone will want to be invited to both Hollywood and the Royal Family.

Letting Work Overshadow Her Marriage

When Trevor Engelson and Meghan Markle first entered their marriage, it wasn't like they were completely new to one another. The pair had dated for six years and undoubtedly knew about each other in most of their personalities. Yet, that didn't stop their marriage from coming to an end after just two short years. One of the biggest contributors to why these two couldn't make things work revolves around the fact that Markle had landed her acting job on Suits just a few months before these two were wed. With her career soaring, she ultimately let her professional life interfere with her new marriage. She won't be making that same mistake with Prince Harry and immediately announced her departure from Suits after she became engaged to Prince Harry. The network released a statement that read,

"Meghan has been a member of our family for seven years and it has been a joy to work with her.

We want to thank her for her undeniable passion and dedication to Suits, and we wish her the very best."

Not Getting Involved In Her Husband’s Endeavors

Trevor Engelson is quite accomplished in his career in the entertainment industry. While the public often gets fixated on the celebrities that are shown in front of the cameras, it's often the ones that are working behind-the-scenes that have the most clout and esteem amongst the really important people in Hollywood. Engelson was heralded for being a film producer with an incredible amount of talent. He produced a number of memorable films like License to Wed and All About Steve but his biggest success seems to be the romantic film, Remember Me, which starred Robert Pattinson. On top of that, Engelson is also a prominent manager, working with a number of screenwriters, directors, novelists, and actors.

Yet, the public never heard about Markle working in collaboration with her husband's endeavors and, instead, she seemed to be doing her own thing with Suits. She won't be making that same mistake with Prince Harry

and even commented on how badly she was looking forward to going around the Common Wealth with Prince Harry during the interview with BBC's Mishal Husain.

Long Distance Relationships Don’t Work

Although Trevor Engelson already had quite an established career prior to marrying Meghan Markle, she hadn't yet reached her peak as a professional actress. She was just starting to embark on a major career in the entertainment industry when she landed a job on Suits with the role of Rachel Zane just a few months before the wedding. Yet, the role was exactly conducive to maintaining a close relationship with her new husband because it required her to work in Toronto, which was far from the LA base of her entertainment industry husband.

This five-hour flight created a distance problem between her and Trevor and it's a lesson that was definitely learned for her new relationship with Prince Harry.

Nowadays, it seems like Markle and Prince Harry go everywhere together and she's not going to have a distance issue going into her second marriage.

Friends With Family Members

One of the things that people tend to overlook when it comes to entering a serious relationship is the fact that you won't just be marrying the individual. Instead, marrying someone entails marrying into the entire family and it can be incredibly important to ingratiate yourself into the entire family. This doesn't seem to be the case with Meghan Markle and her first husband, Trevor Engelson, since there didn't seem to be much hardship in ending their short two-year marriage.

It was easy to just cut and run because there wasn't a huge connection with the other family members in the Engelson family.

Conversely, it seems like Markle is doing her very best to try and cultivate a relationship with the wife of Prince Harry's brother, Kate Middleton, and the two have already been photographed together looking quite chummy.

Letting Fame Change Her

With Meghan Markle dating Trevor Engelson for six years prior to getting engaged, it would stand to reason that the two had an incredible connection. Guests that were present at her first wedding in Jamaica have claimed that she "literally shone with happiness."

Yet, the pursuit of her acting career and the incredible success that came from her new role on the hit USA TV series, Suits, seems to have changed her priorities and caused a bit of diva behavior.

Friends of Markle have come out to say that she definitely changed when she received such high acclaim for her Suits role, which was one of the reasons why the marriage didn't work out. Yet, it seems like Markle has learned something from that experience and will undoubtedly try and remain humble in her new marriage to Prince Harry.

Making Enemies Of People That Know Too Much

Ninaki Priddy is a designer that had a longtime friendship with Meghan Markle that spanned more than 30 years. The pair traveled together at the young age of just 15-year-old and Priddy was the maid of honor at Meghan's wedding to Trevor Engelson back in 2011. Yet, the friendship became strained because Priddy claimed that she disapproved of the way Markle handled the break-up with Trevor. Markle began dating the Canadian celebrity chef, Cory Vitiello, and that's when Priddy and Markle stopped speaking. However, Markle seemed to make a huge mistake in making an enemy of her longtime friend because Priddy began giving interviews about the "real" Meghan Markle. In one statement, Priddy claimed,

"All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated, very calculated, in the way she handled people and relationships. She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends."

She also added that Meghan had developed a sense of "entitlement," which isn't exactly painting her in the best light.

Husband Feeling Underappreciated

When Meghan Markle first became the wife of Trevor Engelson, she was forced to juggle a burgeoning career as an actress and the new status of being a wife. She didn't seem to hold an importance on the wife part of her life and put Engelson on the back burner. This is a stark contrast to what her friends have said about her treatment of him prior to getting married and on their wedding day. Markle's close friend Ninaki Priddy gave a number of interviews regarding how happy Markle was with Engelson prior to gaining fame on television. She claimed,

"It was an exciting time. This was the man she wanted to have children with. Meg used to tell me she couldn't imagine a life without Trevor. She said if anything were to happen to him she wouldn't be able to go on."

Yet, things definitely changed after their wedding and Priddy claimed that it was very much "out of sight, out of mind." She won't be making that same mistake with Prince Harry and it seems like all of the photos show her fawning over him and trying to make him feel as appreciated as possible.

Quell Her Voice

When Meghan Markle was first married to Trevor Engelson, she seemed to be a bit shier in regards to speaking out about the things that she's most passionate about. While she had done a bit of work in philanthropy and definitely had a voice in female empowerment, she seemed to do it behind the scenes and didn't make many waves.

With her career still in the beginning of reaching her peak and her husband working with some A-list actors on the big screen, she may not have wanted to cause controversy by speaking out about her true views.

Yet, she has turned a corner with her new engagement with Prince Harry. She isn't going to quell her voice and she's now using her public platform to speak out about her supports of Me Too Movement.

Downplay Marital Status

Although there were some people close to Meghan Markle that were aware of her marriage to Trevor Engelson, it seemed like she was really keeping her personal relationship out of the limelight. There are very few pictures of this couple together, out on the red carpet. Markle had a tendency to attend Hollywood events solo and didn't seem to want the entire world to know her relationship status.

This is sometimes seen in up-and-coming actors because they can sometimes hinder their careers by divulging the fact that they're married but that's definitely not what she's doing with Prince Harry.

Even before the couple made their relationship known to the public, Markle was already sending out cryptic social media posts to try and reveal their relationship to the world. Now that the two are set to be married, there's no doubt that she will want their relationship known to the entire world.