Before she snagged Prince Harry, future princess Meghan Markle was married to producer Trevor
Engelson: The duo dated for about seven years before marrying in Jamaica in September 2011,
then divorced in August 2013 after two years of marriage, with Meghan citing irreconcilable
differences. You know how the story ends: In November 2017,
after a little more than a year of dating publicly, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle became
engaged. Ahead of their royal wedding, North Carolina-based body-language expert Blanca
Cobb reveals whether she sees sparks in Meghan's previous relationship and how the bride-to-be's
body language differs when she's around Prince Harry:
"There is some emotion between Meghan and
her ex," Cobb says of this early photo: Meghan and Trevor face each other in a close embrace
— see Trevor's hand wrapped around Meghan's back, pulling her in, with her chest pressed
against his? "You don't get that close with somebody if you don't like that person, and
the closer you get, the more comfortable you are," Cobb says.
To that end, she notes the stiffness in Meghan's posture: The way her upper body is twisted
toward Trevor forces her to stand erect. "It doesn't look natural," Cobb says. "She could
be trying to look at the camera or, since straightening her back in this position would
give her a little bit of physical distance, she could be sending a subtle, nonverbal signal
that this amount of closeness is too much." Even more notable, however, is Meghan's facial
expression: "It's a social, polite smile," Cobb says of the way her eyes aren't crinkling
at the edges, as they do in genuine smiles. Trevor isn't exactly glowing, either: "That's
not a smile, and there's tension in his forehead, which suggests some kind of stress. Without
a smile, there's no congruency," Cobb says, suggesting the couple wasn't emotionally in
tune when this photo was taken.
"Her smile is different here," Cobb immediately
notices: Meghan's cheeks are pushed up, plus her upper teeth are showing prominently, and
there's crinkling around her eyes as she gazes at Prince Harry. Meanwhile, he looks just
as happy, reflecting Meghan's expression and mirroring her body language, which suggests
they're on the same page. Cobb likes the way they engage with each other
despite the space between them, a product of the context — they're seated side-by-side
at a stadium. "Touch is a good sign, but not the only indicator of closeness," she says,
adding that physical proximity reinforced by welcoming body language — like Meghan
crossing her leg toward Harry — can do the trick, too.
Trevor's wide smile here is starkly different
from his grimace in the previous snapshot — a sign of genuine happiness, according
to Cobb. Meanwhile Meghan's smile is smaller, her gaze coquettish: "She has her chin tucked
down — it's flirtatious and playful, and sexy," Cobb says.
Although the newlyweds face each other and hold their drinks in the same way, there's
still some incongruence, according to Cobb: "They look happy but mismatched. It's their
wedding day — her smile should be as radiant as his."
Here, Meghan shows off her biggest smile yet
— her cheeks, eyes, and mouth are all beaming. Caught in mid-wave or warning — he could
be gesturing for photographers to back up in a cute, protective way — Harry has a
more controlled smile. "Their expressions aren't mirroring one another," Cobb says of
the couple in this context. Still, Harry's feet are turned toward Meghan, a sign he's
into her since your toes tend to point in the direction of people and places you'd like
to move toward. Meanwhile, Meghan is leaning toward Harry
with their heads nearly touching. "You don’t get close to people you don’t feel emotionally
close to, particularly when it comes to your head, which is a very vulnerable part of the
body," she says. "You have to feel intimacy and love to go there."
First off, Trevor gazes right into the camera
lens while Meghan smiles — genuinely — but looks elsewhere. "A smile is reflective of
your internal state, you can smile when you're in a good mood without responding to a person,"
Cobb says, although the source of Meghan's joy is unclear.
Trevor draws his new wife close with an arm around her waist, letting Meghan position
her right shoulder slightly ahead of his left. This shows he's there to support her while
simultaneously awarding her the spotlight. This makes sense, since his pocketed hand
suggests he's a bit uncomfortable, which could explain why his smile still shines dimmer
than Meghan's. There's no tension in Meghan's fingers, suggesting she's more comfortable
than Trevor in this context. A reoccurring mismatch, Cobb says, could mark a couple that's
not emotionally in sync.
"When you tilt your head toward someone and look them in the eye, it shows you're listening
and find them important," says Cobb, noting that Meghan could have looked anywhere while
she listened but chose to engage this way. "It's a great sign."
Cobb's not concerned by Harry looking elsewhere: "You tend to look at others more while you're
listening rather than talking, it's an artifact of conversation," she says.
Although Meghan and Harry stand inches from one another, Harry gestures with his left
hand and leans forward, invading Meghan's personal space. "If she's comfortable with
it, it's good thing. You lean toward people who capture your heart." Cobb says, noting
the lack of tension in Meghan's hands, which suggest she's good to go.
"There isn't anything glaring that's like,
'I can see why they divorced!' " Cobb says of Meghan and Trevor's interactions. "But
Meghan shows more engagement with Harry and seems more in tune with him. Whether it's
a candid or professional shot, there's no question in my mind there's a lot of love
between them."