Meghan Markle says she fell for Prince Harry on their third date — a five-day Botswana camping trip

Meghan Markle says she fell for Prince Harry on their third date

On the latest episode of her Netflix cooking-and-conversation series, Meghan Markle did something rare for a modern royal story: she circled a single moment and said, there—right there—that’s when it happened. Speaking with Tan France in season two of With Love, Meghan, which dropped August 26, she said she knew she loved Prince Harry on their third date, a five-day camping trip in Botswana that stripped away everything but the two of them and the sounds of the bush at night.

It wasn’t a glossy getaway. It was a tent, a lantern, and the question you ask when the brush moves outside: is that an elephant, and are we fine? Meghan described how that kind of close-quarters, no-frills time made it easy to see who Harry was—without schedules, entourages, or headlines. When France pressed on who said “I love you” first, she laughed and admitted it was Harry. She blushed; he teased; the show moved on. The exchange was small, but it told a bigger story about how their relationship began—quickly, quietly, and away from the noise.

Botswana has long been a this-is-us place for the couple. In their 2017 BBC engagement interview, Harry said they went “straight” to camping early on so they could get to know each other without the usual rush and attention. One of the diamonds in Meghan’s engagement ring came from Botswana, a nod to his longtime ties to conservation work there and to what those first days meant. The details she shared on Netflix line up with that earlier version: July 2016, a whirlwind introduction, and a third date that turned into nearly a week in the wild.

The way they met also fits the social-media age. A mutual friend arranged a blind date after Harry spotted Meghan on Instagram—yes, the dog-ear filter story from a friend’s Snapchat has been told before, and it came up again here as part of how fast things clicked. The third date wasn’t dinner or a red carpet. It was a flight, a tent, and a lot of talking.

July 2016: Introduced by a mutual friend; first and second dates in London.
Third date: Five days camping in Botswana, where they say the relationship solidified.
November 2017: Engagement announced; ring includes a stone sourced from Botswana.
May 2018: Windsor Castle wedding watched worldwide.
Now: Married with two children and building projects through Archewell in California.

France’s presence is part of why the segment works on camera. He’s a familiar Netflix face—from Queer Eye and Next in Fashion—and he knows how to keep a conversation warm and moving. With Love, Meghan isn’t just about recipes; the format blends cooking with personal stories and pop-in guests, and this episode leaned into vulnerability without turning into a confessional. The “third date” reveal was a clean, memorable headline that didn’t feel forced.

This new moment of candor also sits within Harry and Meghan’s broader Netflix partnership. Since signing their multi-year deal, they’ve released Harry & Meghan, which recounted their courtship and the storm that followed, Live to Lead, and Heart of Invictus, which centered on the veterans competing in the games Harry founded. A cooking-forward series expands Meghan’s lifestyle lane while keeping the couple’s storytelling in-house—produced to their standards and on their schedule.

There’s a practical reason this kind of story lands. A clear “when I knew” moment is sticky. It helps viewers connect the dots from a private origin story to the very public life that came after: the engagement announcement, the cascading media coverage, the wedding at St George’s Chapel, the birth of their son and daughter, the move to California, and their independent projects. It’s also a neat match for how they’ve tried to frame their narrative since stepping back from royal duties—less mystery, more context, and plenty of receipts.

The Botswana detail is more than romance. Harry has spent considerable time in southern Africa over the years, working with conservation and community projects, including African Parks. The couple has highlighted wildlife protection and environmental issues in multiple appearances. By anchoring their origin story in the bush rather than a palace or a five-star hotel, they reinforce a theme they return to often: they value life outside the royal bubble, where cause work and quiet time matter.

What stands out this time is how precise Meghan was. In earlier interviews, they talked about meeting and about escaping to Africa early. Naming the “third date” as the moment—and pairing it with the image of a tent and nighttime sounds—adds a fresh detail without contradicting anything we’ve heard before. It feels intimate, but not intrusive. That balance is tricky, especially for two people who have seen how personal details can be reshaped once they leave their mouths.

There’s also the “who said it first” line—Harry, according to Meghan. It’s a light, human note that cuts against the sense that every beat of their relationship has been planned. In the show’s kitchen setting, it plays as an offhand memory, not a pronouncement. France’s quick pivot after she blushed kept it from turning into a melodrama. That’s the tone the series seems to favor: honest, but not heavy.

If you followed their earlier projects, you’ll recognize the rhythm. The couple often weaves personal stories into work about food, home, community, and service. A cooking show gives them a friendly backdrop to do that without the pressure of a formal sit-down or a courtroom-style cross-examination. Guests can nudge and joke. The host can share and move on. And audiences get a new scene to attach to a story they already know.

For royal watchers who map every breadcrumb, the Botswana thread remains central. It’s where the relationship accelerated, it’s represented in the engagement ring, and it echoes their public focus on conservation. That continuity is the point. Each new project adds a tile to the mosaic: the first dates in London, the third in Africa, the official milestones, and the everyday life in California. None of it is a secret anymore, but the way they retell it has shifted—from press calls to self-produced media. That choice says as much about their present as any single anecdote about their past.

What’s next on With Love, Meghan? Netflix hasn’t laid out every detail, but the second season is built around the same mix: guests with pop-culture pull, home-cooking segments, and conversations that drift into personal territory. If the Botswana reveal is any guide, expect more snapshots from offstage—small, specific memories that fill out the larger picture.

The moment, the setting, and the message

It’s easy to see why a five-day camping trip would be the place where a relationship either fizzles or locks in. No makeup team, no chauffeurs, no carefully chosen table at a private members’ club—just two people, heat, dust, and the occasional reminder that you’re not at the top of the food chain. For Meghan and Harry, that test became the foundation. It’s why the “third date” lands as more than a cute line. It’s a shorthand for who they were before everything else arrived.

Seven years into marriage, with two kids and a slate of projects, the couple keeps returning to those first weeks in 2016. Not to rewrite them, but to underline them. The third date didn’t just change their relationship; it set the tone for their story—the one they’re still telling, now in their own kitchen, on their own show.