For any enthusiastic The Prince & Me fans (or perhaps even What A Girl Wants? We could stretch for Love Actually?), the relationship between Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle has been a true pop culture treat. As we’ve waded through a dark and cold election season, the unlikely pair gave us hope that good pop culture could perhaps, once again, exist.

But alas, anonymous and bigoted internet trolling has reminded us that we can’t ever have nice things. Apparently the Suits actress and her family have received so much harassment that Kensington Palace (the Kensington Palace-- this is not a drill) released a statement declaring their disappointment and genuine fear for Markle’s safety.

An excerpt from the statement reveals the harassment has been racist, sexist, and threatening.

“[Prince Harry’s] girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public - the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments. Some of it has been hidden from the public - the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.

Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm. He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game - it is her life and his.”

Jezebel shared a disturbing headline they found on the Daily Mail, chalk-full of aggressive rhetoric about Markle’s upbringing in Los Angeles. Somehow, they found a way to center the story around gang violence in Southern California? How did we get here?

As I write this, we are less than 12 hours away from knowing the next president of the United States-- I am a sweaty, stressed, nervous wreck over here. Can we just have this one love story? Please? I need something to take the edge off.

by Kelsey Duchesne