Kristoffer Polaha Gave Dating Advice to Meghan Markle Before Marriage

Looking back. Hallmark star Kristoffer Polaha recalled offering Meghan Markle advice on her personal life — months before she met now-husband Prince Harry.

“She was dating a guy in Toronto and she wasn’t really into the dude and I was like, ‘You just got out of a marriage, why are you jumping into another relationship? Go be single, be free,’” the actor, 45, told SheKnows in an October interview, referring to Meghan’s marriage to Trevor Engelson.

He continued: “She texted me in January and she was like, ‘I took your advice. I’m single, I’m free. I’m going to see who’s out there.’ In March, I get this other text and she’s like, ‘Well, I met someone.’ I said, ‘Do you like him?’ And she said, ‘I kinda do.’ And then of course, it was Harry.”

The Suits alum, 42, starred alongside Polaha in Hallmark Channel’s Daters Handbook in 2016. Later that year, Meghan’s romance with Harry, 38, made headlines after they were introduced through mutual friends. After one year of dating, the pair announced that they were engaged.

“It was just an amazing surprise,” the California native told BBC News during their first joint interview about the proposal at Kensington Palace’s Nottingham Cottage. “It was just so sweet and natural and very romantic. He got on one knee. As a matter of fact, I could barely let [him] finish proposing. I was like, ‘Can I say ‘yes’ now?’”

In May 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex tied the knot at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, and welcomed their son, Archie, the following year.

The duo later raised eyebrows when they announced that they were stepping back from their duties as working members of the royal family. Harry and Meghan chose to move from the U.K. to California and in February 2021, it was confirmed that they would not be returning to their senior roles at the palace.

Amid the major life change, the BetterUp CIO reflected on how his mental health was affected by being a royal. “It’s the job, right? Grin and bear it. Get on with it. I was in my early 20s and I was thinking, ‘I don’t want this job, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be doing this,’” Harry said during an episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast in May 2021, one month before welcoming his second child with Meghan. “Look what it did to my mum. How am I ever going to settle down and have a wife and family, when I know it’s going to happen again?”

Earlier this month, Meghan, who gave birth to Lilibet in June 2021, offered a glimpse at how their family has adjusted to life in California. “It does, it feels like a whirlwind,” she explained during an episode of her “Archetypes” podcast. “I make breakfast for all three of them. It’s very important to me. I love doing it. To me, it just feels like the greatest way to start the morning.”

The Bench author noted she formed a routine since her daughter Lili’s arrival. “But for me, it’s, you know, both monitors on for the kids to hear them, always up with Lili, get her downstairs, then a half hour later, Archie’s up,” she continued. “I start doing his lunchbox right before he’s up while I have her, getting her a little nibble. My husband’s helping me get him downstairs.”