Meghan Markle went out of her way for a family in need.

While speaking on stage at the Baby2Baby Gala in West Hollywood on Tuesday night, Tyler Perry revealed that the Duchess of Sussex, 41, personally searched stores for baby formula during the national shortage earlier this year.

According to Vanity Fair, the 53-year-old writer/director told the crowd of 800 that he was approached by an employee desperate to find formula for their child during the crisis. Perry’s own hunt was unsuccessful, inspiring him to turn to friends across the pond: Meghan and Prince Harry. The California-based couple was in the U.K. at the time (likely for Queen Elizabeth‘s Platinum Jubilee celebration in June), and Meghan went out looking for the formula herself, Perry said.

Meghan and the Madea director have a history of helping each other out. While Meghan and Harry, 38, transitioned out of their senior royals roles in 2020, they stayed at Perry’s Los Angeles estate, living in the Beverly Hills mansion with their son Archie Harrison for a few months before buying a home in Montecito. They would welcome their daughter Lilibet Diana in June 2021.

In a twist that highlighted Perry’s kindness, Meghan recently revealed that she and her husband had never met the filmmaker before they stayed in his home. In the fall fashion issue of The Cut, the Archetypes podcast host told the magazine that she and Perry first connected when she married Harry in 2019. At the time, Perry told her he was praying for her “and that he understood what this meant, and that he could only imagine what it was like,” adding that he’d always be available for support or advice.

Taking him up on the invitation two years later, Meghan filled Perry in on her family’s stay in Vancouver, Canada amid an uncertain future as they stepped back from royal life.

“Sometimes, you can tell your life story to a stranger on a plane as opposed to some of the people that are closest to you,” the Duchess of Sussex said.

During an interview on Today earlier this year, Perry said, “It was a very difficult time for them. What I know about the two of them, that I wish the world knew, is how much they love — these two people love each other. They found each other — out of all these odds against them finding each other, they found each other. The love they have is really, really moving, and I just wanted to do anything I could to support them.”

Perry also extended the use of a security detail to the Sussex family during their time in Beverly Hills. In their March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple cited a lack of security for their son as a major concern.

After using Perry’s estate for their fresh start in the United States, Meghan and Prince Harry purchased a property in Montecito in August 2020. The couple reportedly spent $14 million on a nine-bedroom mansion, where they’ve lived ever since with their two young children.

Perry even welcomed them to their new abode with a grand piano as a housewarming gift, telling them, “Write the soundtrack for your life.”

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During the process of putting down roots at their “permanent home,” a source told PEOPLE that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were incredibly appreciative of Perry’s compassion.

“They’re really grateful to Tyler Perry for his kindness,” the insider said in the summer of 2020. “They have endless gratitude to him for helping them during a complicated time.”

“With COVID and as they were stepping back from their royal duties, he provided them a safe haven,” they added.