Howie Mandel has revealed that he has kept a memento of Meghan Markle from when she starred as a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal with him.
The AGT judge, 68, hosted the game show from 2005-2009, during which time the now Duchess of Sussex had a brief role before finding fame as an actress.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Good Guys podcast, Howie admitted that he doesn't keep in touch with Meghan because he doesn't remember her appearing on the show.
© Getty Images"To be honest, when she became the duchess or whatever – is she a duchess? When I heard that she was on Deal or No Deal, I didn't remember her," he said.
However, while he might not recall their time on the show together, Howie does have a photo featuring Meghan on the desk in his office.
"I have a picture of her in my office. She's one of the girls standing behind me," he revealed.
However, Howie emphasized that forgetting about Meghan wasn’t personal, as he doesn't remember many of the models who appeared on the show.
© Getty Images"But I don't remember a lot of them. You know, Chrissy Teigan was also a Deal or No Deal model," he added.
Meghan featured in 34 episodes of Deal or No Deal between 2006 and 2007 and held briefcase number 24.
In 2022, she opened up about her time on the show, revealing she was "forced to be all looks and little substance".
© Getty ImagesSpeaking on her Archetypes podcast to Paris Hilton, Meghan said there was a "very cookie cutter idea" of what the briefcase girls should look like and that it was "solely about beauty and not necessarily about brains".
Touching on the program's toxic beauty standards, the mom-of-two explained how she was given spray tan vouchers each week and was once told to "suck it in," by a lady who ran the show.
Meghan added: "I ended up quitting the show. Like I said, I was thankful for the job but not for how it made me feel, which was not smart.
© Getty Images"And by the way, I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me. But that wasn't the focus of why we were there. And I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach, knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage."
She added: "I didn't like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance. And that's how it felt for me at the time, being reduced to this specific archetype."
Reflecting on previous workplace experiences, the actress said: "And there were times when I was on set at Deal or No Deal and thinking back to my time working as an intern at the US Embassy in Argentina, in Buenos Aires, and being in the motorcade with the Secretary of Treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain.
© Getty"Here, I was being valued for something quite the opposite."
After leaving the show, Meghan starred in the legal drama Suits from 2011 until 2018, when she left to marry Prince Harry and became the Duchess of Sussex.
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