Misha Nonoo and Mikey Hess welcomed their first child last month. Instagram / Misha Nonoo
Misha Nonoo and Mikey Hess welcomed their first child last month. Instagram / Misha Nonoo
Misha Nonoo and Mikey Hess welcomed their first child last month. Instagram / Misha Nonoo
Misha Nonoo and Mikey Hess welcomed their first child last month. Instagram / Misha Nonoo

'It has been a lot': Misha Nonoo opens up about giving birth during coronavirus pandemic


Emma Day
  • English
  • Arabic

Little Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor has a potential new playmate.

The Duchess of Sussex's close friend, designer Misha Nonoo, has welcomed her first child, and took to social media this week to reveal what it was like giving birth amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bahrain-born fashion star, 33, and her husband Mikey Hess welcomed Leo into the world at the end of March.

Michael Hess and Misha Nonoo at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. Shutterstock
Michael Hess and Misha Nonoo at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2018. Shutterstock

"Last time you heard from me, I was very pregnant, and I am excited to share that I am now the lucky mother to an adorable, healthy little boy," Nonoo said in a series of stories on her brand's Instagram page on Thursday.

The new mother, who married oil heir Hess in Rome last September, revealed that the realities of parenthood weren't exactly what she had expected.

"I thought that I had read every book and I was fully prepared for what it was going to look like to be a mum and to handle a newborn. It turns out that I don't think you're ever fully prepared for that."

She added: "But handling that on top of the coronavirus has been a lot to say the least."

Nonoo, who is long-rumoured to have been the woman who introduced Meghan Markle to Prince Harry, also opened up about the early lessons she's learnt about raising a child.

"I think it's really important to maintain a routine. We've just got the baby on a schedule, very early, but never too early to be on a schedule I've realised," she said.

"For me, it's been about maintaining my meditation. It's about going for a walk getting some sunshine and, you know, having FaceTime moments with friends. All of those things have been really, really helpful."

Nonoo, who has Iraqi and British heritage, first confirmed she was expecting her first child in January, creating a debut line of maternity wear.

The designer, who now lives in the US, has been friends with the Duchess of Sussex for years, since the former actress was on TV show Suits.

The two even collaborated on a capsule fashion collection for charity Smart Works, of which Meghan is a patron. The line consisted of workwear pieces, with profits going towards supporting the organisation, which helps underprivileged women secure employment.

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Fight card

Preliminaries:

Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)

Main card:

Carlos Prates (BRA) v Dmitry Valent (BLR); Bobirjon Tagiev (UZB) v Valentin Thibaut (FRA); Arthur Meyer (FRA) v Hicham Moujtahid (BEL); Ines Es Salehy (BEL) v Myriame Djedidi (FRA); Craig Coakley (IRE) v Deniz Demirkapu (TUR); Artem Avanesov (ARM) v Badreddine Attif (MAR); Abdulvosid Buranov (RUS) v Akram Hamidi (FRA)

Title card:

Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)

Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)

Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)

Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015

- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”