Revelations about Meghan Markle’s experience as a member of the British royal family were jaw-dropping for the millions of viewers who tuned into her exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

During the sit-down, the Duchess of Sussex revealed that scrutiny from the media and feeling ostracized by the family’s staff and the commonwealth led her and her husband, Prince Harry, to ultimately step back from their royal duties and relocate from England to California. Prior to the conversation, which aired on CBS on March 7, neither Markle nor the Duke of Sussex had spoken in detail about their decision.

Reflecting on the explosive conversation, Winfrey said she had no idea how big of an inside scoop she was about to get. “I was as surprised by the bombshell as everybody else. I was doing an interview to offer them a platform to tell their story about why they left, and that was my number one intention,” Winfrey explained to her longtime friend and fellow journalist Gayle King in a Sept. 12 conversation.

The former “Suits” actress and her husband claimed that concerns about their son’s complexion were expressed by family members, and that other racial remarks had been uttered by others. Their allegations were met with shock by Winfrey. Her stunned facial expression even spurred a flurry of memes on social media.

“Some of the things that were revealed to me in that interview came as a surprise to me, and those surprises are now referred to as bombshells, but I did not set out to do a bombshell interview,” she added.

Markle debuted her own podcast, “Archetypes,” on Aug. 23. Her first guest was friend and tennis phenom Serena Williams. Her second guest was Mariah Carey. During their Aug. 30 episode, the legendary vocalist and the Duchess discussed misconceptions they faced while growing up as biracial children, and being called a diva.

Watch the clip of King interviewing Winfrey below.