Sometimes, the past is like a messy bookshelf; no matter how much you try to organize it, the books just don’t fit into the neat little space you want. Meghan Markle, in her podcast series Archetypes, seemed to pull a dusty book off that shelf, tossing aside her Deal or No Deal days as if they were just another chapter of her life she’d rather forget.
Her comments about feeling like a “bimbo” during her time as a briefcase model on the game show sparked an immediate response from none other than Howie Mandel.
As the former host of Deal or No Deal, Mandel didn’t shy when asked about Markle’s remarks. He bluntly admitted that he didn’t even remember her time on the show, despite her being a part of it for a brief period in 2006 and 2007.
Ouch. It’s like being a part of a team and then realizing you are just another face in the crowd.
Meghan Markle on her Deal or No Deal days: ‘Reduced to a bimbo’
Meghan Markle’s criticism of Deal or No Deal painted her role on the show as a career low point. She spoke candidly about the discomfort of feeling like she was just a pretty face with little substance. “I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks,” she told Paris Hilton on Archetypes (via The Independent), adding that the experience felt “reduced to this specific archetype—the word bimbo.”
Well, that’s a tough pill to swallow. The bright lights of Hollywood can either blind you or make you realize you’re just another cog in the machine. Markle, in her case, felt the latter.
But what she didn’t quite reckon with was the reality of her position on the show. Deal or No Deal was a game of chances, with briefcase models standing as symbols of glitz and glamour. Yet, as she claimed, the focus was always on beauty, not brains.
Howie Mandel reflected on Meghan Markle’s Deal or No Deal days
Now, let’s take a moment to look at Howie Mandel’s response. As the show’s host from 2008 to 2019, he reflected on Meghan Markle’s comments with a dose of straightforwardness. He admitted that when he first heard she was a part of the show, he had no recollection of her.
He even went as far as to say (via The Independent):
I have a picture of her in my office, well she’s one of many of the girls standing behind me on Deal or No Deal.
It’s as though Meghan Markle’s role was just another day at the office for Mandel. He also pointed out that he didn’t remember many of the women who worked as briefcase models. So, where does that leave Prince Harry’s wife in Mandel’s mind? Just another face in a sea of models?
Well, Markle’s time on Deal or No Deal might have been brief, but the impact it had on her? That’s something that’s still echoing through her life today. As for Mandel, his indifference isn’t exactly surprising—it’s just the nature of the game. After all, in the world of reality TV, no one really remembers the backdrops once the curtain falls.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
