I kissed Meghan Markle when she was married – this is what I think of her now… and why I haven’t watched the Duchess of Sussex’s new Netflix show
Meghan Markle has courted controversy for years but in one of the more peculiar moments of public life, the controversial actress was kissed by a young boy in front of a room of rowdy teenagers.
In the years since the viral kiss, Meghan has been responsible for a series of failed Megxit projects – from her cancelled Spotify podcast and children’s book flops to her disastrous lifestyle brand and slated Netflix shows.
Yet despite her failures, the 16-year-old who kissed Meghan Markle five years ago on her final UK engagement still has eyes for the Duchess of Sussex, MailOnline can reveal.
Aker Okoye, now 21, delighted his schoolmates when he left Meghan in hysterics on a trip to Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham in 2020, where he bounded up on stage to rapturous applause and embraced her.
Taking to the lectern, the smooth-talking head boy laughed before waiting for the clamour to die down – and said, ‘she really is beautiful innit,’ sparking more laughter as Meghan wagged her finger in mock admonishment.
Over the following days the teenager’s life was a whirlwind. He wrote a tongue-in-cheek apology to Prince Harry for ‘cuddling his wife’ and defended Meghan on Good Morning Britain, saying she ‘is more than a pretty face’.
Now a star student at Cambridge who hopes to take up an acting career after he finishes his BA in Education, Policy and International Development, Aker says he still has an ‘admiration’ for Meghan, who quit the royal family to live in a multi-million-pound mansion in California.
Speaking to MailOnline five years after his star moment, Aker said: ‘If we ever share a stage again I will be sure to point it out for the crowd in one way or another.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (left) goes to embrace student Aker Okoye during a school assembly as part of a visit to Robert Clack School in Essex, on March 6, 2020, in support of International Women’s Day
The trip to the Dagenham school was Meghan’s final solo engagement as a working member of the Royal Family and marked International Women’s Day
Aker Okoye, now 21, delighted his schoolmates when he left Meghan in hysterics on a trip to Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham in 2020, where he bounded up on stage to rapturous applause and embraced her
‘I’ll let it be known that I’ll always share an admiration for her and her works!’
But despite his love for the Duchess, Aker said that he has not watched her new Netflix show or her podcasts because he hadn’t realised they existed.
He said he had watched Suits after meeting the former actress and ‘loved’ it, and hoped she had ‘really experienced as much as she could in the UK and taken as much from that experience and learned from that’.
Meghan Markle’s With Love show has a lowly 11 per cent rating from viewers, falling behind wrestling and sitcoms on Netflix’s chart. The delayed lifestyle series was slammed by critics yesterday after its premiere as ‘gormless lifestyle filler’ with a ‘tangible desperation’.
The trip to the Dagenham school was Meghan’s final solo engagement as a working member of the Royal Family and marked International Women’s Day.
Aker raced to the stage after she asked for a schoolboy to get up on stage and talk about what the day meant to them.
Looking back on the moment, he laughed: ‘I’ve managed to do a few things since that moment. I was but a boy, now I am a 21-year-old man so things have definitely transitioned, shifted, grown since.
Now a star student at Cambridge who hopes to take up an acting career after he finishes his BA in Education, Policy and International Development, Aker says he still has an ‘admiration’ for the Montecito-based royal
Meghan called for a ‘brave young man’ to come up on stage to explain the importance of it all – and for one rare moment, Meghan found herself upstaged by 16-year-old Aker
Taking to the lectern, the smooth-talking head boy laughed before waiting for the clamour to die down – and simply said: ‘she really is beautiful innit’
The crowd went wild and he beamed as she laughed and wagged her finger in mock admonishment
‘It’s nice to see my essence captured in real time, and so that to be celebrated at the time – unintentional that it was going to be seen by so many people!’
Aker says that his father and then-agent were adamant that he return to school and live a normal life after his royal exposure.
He said that his whole class gathered around the school projector to watch his appearance on Good Morning Britain – and he arrived back to find himself the object of amazement and envy.
And even when he arrived at Cambridge, after achieving stellar A*A*A* grades, he was a local celebrity.
He made top of the student newspaper Varsity’s list of ‘famous freshers’ – beating Northern Irish environmental activist Dara McAnulty, BRIT award nominated Classical Soprano Katie Marshall and Lichtenstein’s Princess Theodora.
After throwing himself into acting at Cambridge, he is prepped to attend his first award show later this year and hopes to join the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art when he graduates.
He said: ‘I was a bit of a maverick growing up and was good with everybody – I was quite social and I was also head boy.
‘The goodwill I accumulated years prior had to come to fruition for the most part and were just very happy for me. Some of them were jealous and still now they hold on to it which I have to laugh at!
Meghan’s delayed lifestyle series was slammed by critics yesterday after its premiere as ‘gormless lifestyle filler’ with a ‘tangible desperation’
Meghan Markle ‘s With Love show has a lowly 11 per cent rating from viewers with it behind wrestling and sitcoms on Netflix ‘s chart
‘There were some staff who were not very happy with me. I think a lot of teachers had not foreseen the circumstances!’
The viral moment came just days before the country went into lockdown for Covid-19. Teachers who met Meghan joked they weren’t sure whether to offer her a handshake or elbow bump. ‘It’s OK!’ she said, holding out her hand.
Aker said that the isolation following his new-found fame was ‘very difficult’, but made him realise how important it was to be a part of the local community.
He remains proud that he helped put the struggling area in east London – which the Duchess of Sussex called ‘incredibly profound’ – on the map.
He continued: ‘Dagenham especially has so many heroes and so many people that often aren’t given the shining light that they deserve simply because of where they’re coming from.
‘I’m glad that, at least in that moment, the world knew what Dagenham was and had a flavor or Dagenham can offer.’
Standing up in front of the school assembly in 2020, Meghan spoke passionately to the school about International Women’s Day.
And that’s when she called for a ‘brave young man’ to come up on stage to explain the importance of it all – and for one rare moment, Meghan found herself upstaged by 16-year-old Aker.
‘I had to speak the truth there,’ he told the room. ‘International Women’s Day is a reminder to everyone that women can do it all and do do it all.
Aker poses for a picture with GMB presenter Piers Morgan (left) and grabs a selfie with Susanna Reid
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex poses with school children making the ‘Equality’ sign following a school assembly during a visit to Robert Clack School in Essex, on March 6, 2020, in support of International Women’s Day
‘This is more of a message to all you guys. Maybe this Sunday could be the one day we don’t look at women as objects.’
‘Well done. Very well said,’ replied Meghan as Aker hugged her and left the stage. ‘And incredible confidence, won’t you all agree?’
It is a message Aker still lives by. He said: ‘I think often people don’t even begin to question why she was there, but the reason why she was there was in light of International Women’s Day.
‘I’ve participated in anti male violence against women and girls consecutively for the past two years and I think that that message has only been echoed.
‘I’ll always be someone who repeats this message and tries to embody that as much as I can.
‘I think as men, we have a great responsibility not only in celebrating but also calling out the injustices and doing what you can to protect and serve.’
