Wendell Pierce is sharing the one piece of advice he gave Meghan Markle before she married Prince Harry and left Suits at the end of season seven.
Pierce and Markle portrayed father and daughter Robert and Rachel Zane in the USA Network show that gained a new level of popularity in 2023.
The actor opened up to E! News about the tender words he shared with the actress-turned-Duchess of Sussex before she departed the show.
“I’m always reminded of the last day working with Meghan, which was the wedding scene prior to her engagement to the Prince,” Wendell told the publication. “I said, ‘Meghan, your life is going to be a whirlwind. You’re going to be in this bubble.'”
He continued, “‘I just want you to remember that no matter what happens, you always have friends. And I hope you count me in that number.'”
The Wire star explained that the season seven finale, in which Rachel marries Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams) before they move to Seattle to start their own law firm, was fitting, considering she married Prince Harry the following year. The finale marked the end of both Markle and Adams’ time on the show.
“I’m so grateful that I was able to express that to her before the whirlwind engagement in a wedding and becoming the Duchess,” Pierce said of his conversation with the duchess.
Pierce was invited to the royal wedding in 2018, but, unlike his Suits co-stars, he could not attend due to scheduling conflicts. However, he and Markle did reunite after she and Prince Harry stepped back from their royal duties and moved to the United States. The onscreen father-daughter duo saw each other at an event last year where she received an award.
Suits gained new life when all nine seasons were added to Netflix in 2023. It spent most of the summer and fall on the top of the streaming charts and, at the end of the year, it became the most-streamed show in the history of Nielsen’s rankings.