When Prince Harry appeared on the red carpet with his wife Meghan Markle at the recent Salute to Freedom Gala, it was a bit of a surprise. While Harry was scheduled to attend and pass out awards, his wife was unexpected and their interactions down the red carpet raise an interesting question: Are cracks finally starting to appear in their marriage?

Though they still held hands and at one point Harry seemed to smile at Meghan, some of their other interactions seem to indicate that the prince-in-exile is subtly pulling away from his wife.

For example, when they initially arrive on the red carpet, holding hands of course, Harry looked rather uncomfortable while Meghan tried to strut her stuff in a rather hideous, attention-seeking and over-the-top red dress. 

The couple then walked briefly before being introduced to a group of about five people. Harry introduced himself first person and then Meghan did the same, before swiftly making brief salutations with the rest of peasants.

Meanwhile, Harry was perfectly content to have a long chat with the first gentleman in uniform and clearly wanted to take some time and have genuine conversations with each attendee.

Meghan, not so much.

After she’s forced to interact with the average folks, she’s clearly eager to move on, constantly touching him and at one point saying, “Shall we?” As if to subtly say, there are more poses to make and pictures to take. He brushes her off and at one point actually physically distances himself from his narcissistic wife.

When asked if she’s proud of her husband, Meghan turned around and quipped, “I’m always proud of my husband.”

Though she gave a coy smile and tried to act rather sweet and demure, her actions come across as entirely inauthentic and rather biting. 

Is she really proud of her husband, the man who now claims to have foreknowledge about the January 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol building and doesn’t know what the First Amendment is, or is she playing it up for the cameras, both Netflix and otherwise?

As the group is preparing to leave, Meghan tries to lead the crowd, grasping Harry’s hand as if he doesn’t know how to walk and talk. But this time, Harry isn’t having much of it and is trying to let the award recipients go ahead of him and his wife. Eventually, he just drops her hand altogether.

They may still be trying to put on a good public face, but clearly not everything is well with the Duke and Duchess of Montecito.

When someone is in a relationship with a narcissist, they will eventually break under the pressure of having to inflate the ego of their narcissistic partner every day, unless both of the people in the relationship are narcissists.  

Perhaps, under the pressure of Meghan’s enormous ego, Harry is beginning to crack. No more is the incessant hand holding doing it for him, and he’s not as eager to jump when she calls. He’s asserting some independence, which is good. 

Their relationship has an expiration date. Harry has followed Meghan’s tune halfway around the world, but it’s literally cost him everything. It seems like he’s finally waking up to that reality.