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Once upon a time. Before Prince Harry<\/strong><\/a> met wife Meghan Markle<\/strong><\/a>, he dated Cressida Bonas<\/strong><\/a> for two years.<\/p>\n The pair sparked a romance in 2012 after being introduced by Harry\u2019s cousin Princess Eugenie<\/strong><\/a>. In his January 2023 memoir, Spare<\/em>, the Duke of Sussex recalled a \u201cpainfully awkward\u201d moment from their first date.<\/p>\n \u201cI leaned in to give her a kiss, but my aim was off,\u201d he wrote. \u201cShe turned, I tried again on the return trip and we managed something like a graze.\u201d When the prince called Eugenie to lament the less-than-smooth smooch<\/a>, he learned that his cousin had already heard the story from Bonas.<\/p>\n \u201cBut then came the good news,\u201d Harry continued. \u201cCressida was game to try again.\u201d<\/p>\n With their lackluster first kiss behind them, the twosome continued to date for two more years. In Spare<\/em>, the BetterUp CIO recalled the Bye Bye Man<\/em> actress helping him mourn his mother Princess Diana<\/a>\u2018s death years after the tragedy occured. (The late royal died at age 36 in an August 1997 car crash.)<\/p>\n During a 2014 ski trip to Kazakhstan, Harry\u2019s then-girlfriend asked him about Diana with \u201cjust the right blend of curiosity and compassion.\u201d While answering her, he started to cry.<\/p>\n The prince wrote that the intimate moment marked his first time crying about his mother\u2019s death since her burial<\/a>. \u201cShe was the first person to help me across that barrier, to help me unleash the tears,\u201d he penned. \u201cIt was cathartic, it accelerated our bond and added an element rare in past relationships: immense gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite feeling \u201cindebted\u201d to the model, the Archewell cofounder broke up with Bonas<\/a> shortly after the vacation.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was massive affection, deep and abiding loyalty \u2014 but not love everlasting,\u201d Harry wrote of their 2014 split, noting that Bonas had always been \u201cclear about not wanting to take on the stresses of being a royal.\u201d<\/p>\n He recalled that Bonas didn\u2019t seem surprised when he told her he wanted to call it quits. \u201cThese things had been on her mind as well,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018I\u2019ve learned so much from you, Cress\u2019. She nodded. She looked at the floor, tears running down her cheeks. Damn, I thought. She helped me cry. And now I\u2019m leaving her in tears.\u201d<\/p>\n Although their love story didn\u2019t last, the exes have seemingly remained on good terms. Bonas attended Harry and Meghan\u2019s 2018 nuptials<\/a>, donning a bespoke Eponine London dress and pink feathered fascinator for the occasion. The actress wed Harry Wentworth-Stanley<\/strong><\/a> in 2020 and the pair welcomed son Wilbur in 2022.<\/p>\n Harry and Meghan, meanwhile, share son Archie<\/a> and daughter Lilibet<\/a>, born in 2019 and 2021, respectively.<\/p>\n