Here's what a dating expert found interesting about Harry and Meghan's relationship

The first three episodes of Netflix's Harry & Meghan dropped on Thursday (8 November), inevitably causing a social media storm.

From how they met, to their first romantic encounters, to Harry's intimate proposal, wedding day and scrutinised relationship in the press, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave a glimpse into their whirlwind royal love story.

The couple, who first started dating in 2016, dropped a few bombshells about their relationship, which may surprise some viewers.

Now, Paul Brunson, the world's most influential matchmaker and Celebs Go Dating star, has highlighted five striking revelations from episode one – and he's here to give indy100 his take.

Harry and Meghan met on Instagram

Some viewers were stunned to learn that Harry and Meghan met on Instagram.

The former actress had just finished filming Suits andwas gearing up for a summer trip to Europe and the "intent on being single."

Harry candidly shared, "I was scrolling through my feed, and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them." He jokingly detailed how Meghan was using the Snapchat dog filter.

The pair exchanged numbers after a friend reached out to Meghan and said "Prince Haz" asked for it.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

The revelation left parts of social media scratching their heads, though Paul argued it's "definitely common" for people to meet this way in modern-day dating – regardless of social status. In fact, research shows that 80 per cent of people are meeting their spouses online, including via social media and dating apps.

Meghan then confessed that she did the classic Instagram stalk before meeting Harry.

While Paul explained that a social media soft-search is "always an informative thing to be aware of the persona the person is trying to project", it's also important to be mindful that Instagram is not a true reflection of who people are.

"It's a reflection of who we want to public to believe we are," he said. "When you are searching someone's account, just know it's the persona that person is projecting. It's not actually the real person."

Harry and Meghan only met twice before deciding to pursue a long-term relationship

The pair met at 76 Dean Street, a private members club in London – with Harry showing up half an hour late to their first date as a "hot, sweaty, red ball of mess."

While Paul believes there's "no such thing as love at first sight," he explained how "there's lust at first sight."

"The lust that turns into 'like', and then the 'like' turns into attachment – and then that attachment is where we form the love," he explained.

"Was there intrigue? Was there interest? Was there curiosity? Absolutely, between those two. Was it love? I just don't think we're capable of that as human beings so early," Paul added.

Harry & Meghan | Their First Date | Netflixwww.youtube.com

As for whether the pair moved hastily, Paul said he is an advocate for making these types of situations quickly "when it's a mutual decision."

People who are commitment-minded and ready tend to do this. Given the worlds they travel in, this is actually not unusual. It's not unusual, but it's interesting."

Their third date was camping in Botswana

In the summer of 2016, Harry headed to southern Africa to do conservation work. Meanwhile, Meghan was taking a break from filming.

In the first episode, Meghan recalled Harry asking her to join – an offer she accepted with a few doubts in mind.

"I’m getting on a plane, and I’m going to the middle of the bush? What? What am I doing? What if we don’t like each other, and then we’re stuck in the middle of the bush in a tent?" She said.

For obvious reasons, this would not be a good move for the average person as "it would not be safe", – but for Harry and Meghan, it's completely fine.

Paul suggested how it would be "entirely safe" for the pair, as they would likely be surrounded by security, despite being in the middle of nowhere.

"Harry and Meghan are the exceptions; it's not the norm," he added.

Harry compared Meghan to his mother, Princess Diana

Harry acknowledged that people might "disagree" with his life decisions, but he had to do everything in his power to protect his family – especially after what happened to his mother.

"I didn't want history to repeat itself," he said.

He made a poignant comparison between the late Princess and Meghan, saying: "So much of what Meghan is and how she is, is so similar to my mum,"

"She has the same compassion; she has the same empathy; she has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her. I accept that there will be people around the world who fundamentally disagree with what I’ve done and how I’ve done it, but I knew that I had to do everything I could to protect my family."

Getty Images

Paul found Harry's confession "powerful" as he reaffirmed what he and many spectators had already believed.

"It's the familiarity of the love," he said. "It wasn't that he was subconsciously seeking the traits of his mother; he was seeking the same level of comfort that he felt which Meghan provided."

Meghan's 'two-week rule'

Meghan shared how she implemented a "two-week rule" to help strengthen their long-distance relationship by maintaining physical meet-ups every few weeks.

It was much easier for Meghan to visit Harry in the UK under the radar, who stayed at his Kensington Palace grounds and went for walks around Frogmore.

For Paul, this was the most intriguing moment from episode one.

"When we initially meet someone, what we're doing early in a relationship is negotiating boundaries," he said. "Often, we don't strongly indicate our boundaries. Why? Because we're in lust."

"Here, you have someone who has entered his life, and she immediately throws down a boundary. I think that's genius," Paul continued. "It not only elevates her positioning in a relationship and a true 50/50 partnership, but it immediately tests how much he respects the relationship because he has to adhere to the boundary.

"It's also a great test of how much she respects the relationship because she also has to adhere to that boundary."

Netflix

Paul believes there's a massive lesson that all people can learn from this: Set boundaries earlier on in relationships.

"It's important for us to set our boundaries early and then watch if the partner adheres to them.

"If they do, they respect you and the relationship. If they don't, they have no respect for you."

From Meghan's relationship with her half-sister, Samantha Markle, to how their engagement interview felt like an "orchestrated reality show", here are 12 things we learned from the first three episodes of Harry & Meghan.

The first three episodes of Harry & Meghan are now available to stream on Netflix.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.