Tyler Perry Reveals Why He Helped Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Before He’d Even Met Them

Sometimes, existing relationships are strengthened by difficult circumstances. But other times, the difficult circumstances themselves are the beginnings of those strong relationships. Such was the case with Tyler Perry’s friendship with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, going from total stranger to saving grace to godfather of the couple’s youngest child in the space of three years.

On Wednesday’s episode of the Let’s Talk Off Camera With Kelly Ripa podcast, Perry opened up about taking them into his home following their contentious exit from the royal family before he’d met them in person, arranging for the family and their belongings to be secretly transported across international borders to his home while the world was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is very important for people in this business to have a safe place to land, to have a place where they can trust and talk freely and get advice that’s not going to be biased or from somebody who wants something from them,” Perry told host Kelly Ripa. He said that he sent them a note for their wedding, saying that he “got the tremendous sense” that for Markle especially things were “overwhelming.”