Meghan Markle's Departure from 'Suits' and Her Transformation Post-Marriage to Prince Harry

Before Meghan Markle became the Duchess of Sussex, she was most known for her starring role on the USA Network legal drama Suits. However, after seven years on the series, she stepped away from her role and married Prince Harry, starting her new life as a member of the British royal family. Life & Style looks back at her time on Suits, her exit and her life after the show.

Meghan played Rachel Elizabeth Zane, the daughter of renowned New York City lawyer Robert Zane. Rachel landed a job offer at her father’s law firm, Rand, Kaldor & Zane, but she instead took an opportunity as a senior paralegal at competitor Pearson Hardman. Rachel later became an associate at Pearson Specter Litt.

Rachel officially passed the bar and began her career as an attorney in season 7. She and fiancé Michael “Mike” Ross (Patrick J. Adams) also tied the knot during season 7 and accepted an offer to found and run a public interest law firm together in Seattle.

Meghan was written out of Suits in season 7, which was filmed in 2017 and aired from July 2017 to April 2018, when her character moved to Seattle. Patrick also left the series in season 7, but he later returned in season 9.

USA Network confirmed Meghan’s exit from Suits in November 2017, one day after her engagement to Harry. “After seven amazing seasons, Meghan Markle will depart Suits,” the show wrote on Twitter (now X) at the time.

Both Meghan’s and Patrick’s contracts with Suits reportedly expired at the end of season 7. However, the expired contract came at an important time for the former actress, who had embarked on a romantic journey with the man who would ultimately become her husband. Suits creator Aaron Korsh told BBC Radio 4’s Today in 2017 that he had been planning Meghan’s exit for some time in light of her relationship with Harry.

“I knew from a year ago that this relationship was burgeoning. And I had a decision to make because I didn’t want to intrude and ask her, ‘Hey what’s going on and what are you going to do?’ So collectively with the writers, we decided to take a gamble that these two people were in love and it was going to work out,” Korsh said. “What we decided to do was to say, ‘Look, I would rather have good things happen to Meghan in her life’ – which would likely mean her leaving the show. So let’s plan on that and it’s much easier to undo that, if it came to it, than to just plan on her staying forever and then finding out she’s going to go.”

Meghan married Harry in May 2018. Her role in Suits marked her final acting gig. However, she has since appeared in multiple reality and documentary projects for Netflix, including 2022’s Harry & Meghan and her lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, which premieres on March 4, 2025.

Meghan opened up about her decision to quit acting following her exit from Suits.

“I don’t see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change,” she said in a 2017 BBC interview. “It’s a new chapter. And keep in mind, I’ve been working on my show for seven years. We were very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series. For me, once we hit the 100-episode marker, I thought, I have ticked this box and I feel really proud of the work we’ve done there, and now, it’s time to work as a team with [Harry].”