Meghan Markle’s close friends insist there’s a good reason why she has distanced herself from her father and half-siblings since becoming the Duchess of Sussex.
After maintaining their silence for nearly two years, five women who are part of the 37-year-old's inner circle have spoken to People magazine Wednesday to “stand up against the global bullying we are seeing and speak the truth about a friend.”
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The women have requested anonymity to protect their identities and private relationships with Markle, who married Britain’s Prince Harry in May 2018.
“Meg has silently sat back and endured the lies and untruths,” said a former costar. The pal added that with Markle and Harry expecting their first child this spring, “we worry about what this is doing to her and the baby.”
“It’s wrong to put anyone under this level of emotional trauma, let alone when they’re pregnant,” added the costar.
One of the misconceptions the friends wanted to address was Markle’s relationship with her father Thomas Markle, a former Hollywood lighting director, as well as her half-siblings Samantha and Thomas Markle Jr.
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“They have been made to appear as siblings who had this falling out, and that’s not the truth at all,” said a longtime friend about the siblings. She shared they were in their mid-to-late teens when Markle was born. Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, and Thomas split when she was 2 years old.
“They were not a part of her life,” they stressed.
One friend claimed that despite the patriarch’s pleads for Markle to reach out to him, he has allegedly not made an attempt to contact his daughter.
“He knows how to get in touch with her,” claimed the confidante. “Her telephone number hasn’t changed. He’s never called; he’s never texted. It’s super painful because Meg was always so dutiful. I think she will always feel genuinely devastated by what he’s done. And at the same time, because she’s a daughter, she has a lot of sympathy for him.”
In various interviews, the 74-year-old claimed he has no way to reach his famous daughter.
In the week before Markle’s wedding to Harry, Thomas decided not to attend the wedding after an arrangement he made with paparazzi to stage several photoshoots ahead of the big day.
According to a friend, Markle and Harry were still determined to have Thomas be a part of their special day even after the photos emerged.
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“Meg and Harry were still so focused on getting [Tom] to London,” said the friend. “At no point was there was talk of ‘Now that we know he lied, he’s in trouble.’ Tom wouldn’t take her calls, wouldn’t take Harry’s calls.”
“The next morning when the car got there [to take him to the airport], he wouldn’t get in,” claimed the friend. “[Later] Meg heard he had a heart attack and she’s calling and texting, even up to the night before the wedding. It was like, ‘Please pick up. I love you and I’m scared.’ It was endless.”
“After the wedding, she wrote him a letter,” continued the pal. “She’s like, ‘Dad, I’m so heartbroken. I love you. I have one father. Please stop victimizing me through the media so we can repair our relationship.’ Because every time her team has to come to her and fact-check something [he has said], it’s an arrow to the heart. He writes her a really long letter in return, and he closes it by requesting a photo op with her.
“And she feels like, ‘That’s the opposite of what I’m saying. I’m telling you I don’t want to communicate through the media, and you’re asking me to communicate through the media. Did you hear anything I said?’ It’s almost like they’re ships passing.”
The friend also said she’s baffled by Samantha, 54, constantly speaking to the press and publicly criticizing Markle.
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“Fast way forward to Meghan dating Harry, and now Samantha is going by the last name Markle [after long using the name Grant],” said the pal. “And then she began this career capitalizing on Meg. Everyone who knows Meg knows that the two of them have no relationship.”
But these days, Markle is focusing on her new role as a member of the British royal family. She and Harry are currently residing at Kensington Palace’s Nottingham Cottage before their big move to Frogmore Cottage.
“We’ve all been to their cottage,” said one pal. “It’s small and she’s made it cozy, but the perception of their lifestyle and the reality are two different things. Meg cooks for herself and Harry every single day.”
“We had a couple of days together recently,” chimed another. “Her husband was out of town on work. In the room she made up for me, there was a candle lit by the bed, slippers and a robe. We were the only two in the house. It was our time. She made the most lovely meals. She made tea every day. It was raining and muddy outside, so the dogs got all dirty, and she’s wiping them off with towels.”
“How much she loves her animals, how much she loves her friends, how much she loves feeding you, taking care of you – none of that has changed,” added the friend.