2:09
- culture
- Royal Family
- November 2, 2018
Super fan describes meeting Duchess Meghan
Meghan saw the fan during a stop with Prince Harry in Auckland, New Zealand.
2:09
She caught Meghan’s eye amid a sea of people because the two had communicated on Instagram before Meghan closed her social media accounts.
MORE: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle finish 16-day royal tour with a walk through a forest
Meghan’s reaction to seeing Sergel in person was caught on camera, and the rest is history, or at least one super fan's dream come true.
“Good Morning America” spoke to Sergel about how she came to befriend Markle, and what it was like to meet the Duchess of Sussex in person.
Here is our email Q&A, edited for length.
How did you become friends with Duchess Meghan on social media?
I first followed her on Instagram and Twitter after seeing her in \"Suits\" and would just comment on some of her photos [and] tweets, casually.
After a while, she started engaging with me more by replying back to my tweets and comments/questions. Eventually, she followed me back [on Instagram] in January 2016 and we continued talking from there.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/hannah-sergel-meghan-markle-ig-ht-jc-181101_hpEmbed_16x7_384.jpg\")
What were your conversations about?
Many conversations would be her encouraging me to be the best person I could, talking to me about starting university and just well-wishes in general. The main takeaways were definitely to just be myself, do what I love and always be kind.
I was definitely disappointed [when Meghan closed her social accounts] that I was going to lose contact with her through social media, but I was so happy she had found someone to spend the rest of her life with. She was so happy and that was what mattered.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/meghan-markle-auckland-03-gty-jc-181101_hpEmbed_2x3_384.jpg\")
What was the moment like when Meghan recognized you in Auckland?
I was honestly so shocked, it’s such a blur. I tried to keep my cool (not very well) but it was definitely difficult.
the wee “oh my god” when she realises it’s me ?????? pic.twitter.com/aHOfAty6a1
— hannah (@bellisariho) October 30, 2018
It was a very short conversation as it was just as they were supposed to be leaving.
goodnight. i love meghan markle with all my heart ?? pic.twitter.com/lKjfDVmLnO
— hannah (@bellisariho) October 31, 2018
But, after she recognized me she said, \"Oh my gosh, how are you? So good to finally meet you.\" I answered, then she said, \"Come here,\" and hugged me.
HARRY’S FACE JUST AS WE HUG BRB CRYING pic.twitter.com/49OGhxOCXG
— hannah (@bellisariho) November 1, 2018
She thanked me for coming out and making contact and I asked her to read the letter I gave her, which she said she would.
look at how fast harry gets the letter ?????? bye pic.twitter.com/DtIZc3HtWD
— hannah (@bellisariho) October 31, 2018
I didn’t expect her to recognize me, let alone spend time with me! I had hoped to see her or even get the chance to speak with her, but never expected anything like this to happen. I’m still so blown away that she recognized me AND came over to me.
She’s honestly such a genuine person.
How do you think Meghan is handling her role as Duchess of Sussex?
I think it’s amazing that she’s using her platform to inspire good change in the world.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/meghan-markle-auckland-02-gty-jc-181101_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Even before she was a duchess, she was engaged with [United Nations] Women and anti-racism campaigns so I think it’s wonderful that she is able to use her voice to stand up for what she is passionate about.
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/im-blown-20-year-super-fan-face-face/story?id=58897365","legacySlug":"/culture/story/im-blown-20-year-super-fan-face-face-58897365","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"10:00","publishDate":"11-02-2018","updatedTime":"12:53","updatedDate":"11-02-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meets fans during a public walk along Auckland's Viaduct Harbour on Oct. 30, 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand.","credit":"Dean Purcell/Pool via Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/meghan-markle-auckland-02-gty-jc-181101_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"11/2/2018 10:00:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":58897365,"headline":"Super fan describes meeting Duchess Meghan","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_MEGHAN MARKLE'S SUPER FAN ON MEETING HER_181101","description":"Meghan saw the fan during a stop with Prince Harry in Auckland, New Zealand.","duration":"2:09","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/10/181031_gma_longman_0803_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["58512177","58872029","58865293"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"October 15, 2018","headline":"13 of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sweetest moments","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/meghan-markle-prince-harry-expecting-13-sweetest-moments-58512177","id":58512177,"image":{"alt":"13 of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's sweetest moments","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/meghan-markle-01-as-gty-01-180406_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Chris Jackson/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 31, 2018","headline":"Prince Harry's touching words to little boy who lost his mom","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/prince-harry-shares-touching-advice-losing-princess-diana-58872029","id":58872029,"image":{"alt":"Prince Harry's touching words to little boy who lost his mom","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/prince-harry3-gty-ml-181031_hpMain_2_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Alan Gibson-Pool/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"October 31, 2018","headline":"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk hand-in-hand through forest on last day of tour","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/prince-harry-meghan-markle-part-traditional-maori-powhiri-58865293","id":58865293,"image":{"alt":"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk hand-in-hand through forest on last day of tour","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/harry-markle2-rt-ml-181031_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool via Reuters","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Super fan describes meeting Duchess Meghan","description":"Meghan saw the fan during a stop with Prince Harry in Auckland, New Zealand.","duration":"2:09","uploadDate":"11-02-2018","publication":"11-02-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/10/181031_gma_longman_0803_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/10/181031_gma_longman_0803_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/im-blown-20-year-super-fan-face-face-58897365"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132675442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132665875","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Super fan describes meeting Duchess Meghan","pubTime":"06:00","pubDate":"11-02-2018","modTime":"08:53","modDate":"11-02-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":58897365,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Super fan describes meeting Duchess Meghan","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_MEGHAN MARKLE'S SUPER FAN ON MEETING HER_181101","videoId":58897365,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/im-blown-20-year-super-fan-face-face-58897365"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/58897365","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/58897365","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};