“I grew up with a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners,” Meghan said. “Watching ‘Jeopardy!’ and having a lot of microwaveable kids’ meals… that was normal.” However, there were disputes about what Meghan’s childhood was truly like. Her father challenged some of her memories, including how she ate as a child, claiming he personally picked her up from school every day or sent a car when busy. Yet, what left the deepest mark on Meghan was the constant public scrutiny she and her dark-skinned mother faced.
Many assumed Meghan was a white woman, leading to awkward questions about how she could have a dark-skinned mom. Doria once recalled being mistaken for the nanny when out in public. “I just remember my mom telling me stories about taking me [to] the grocery store and a woman going, ‘Whose child is that?’ She’s like, ‘It’s my child.’ ‘No, you must be the nanny. Where’s her mom?’” Meghan recalled. After her parents separated, Meghan was raised by both until age nine, when her father became her primary caregiver while her mother built her career. Meghan lived with her dad full-time until she left for college at eighteen.Continue reading…
