Meghan Markle, Prince Harry 'disloyal' for 'trashing royal family,' need to 'find their own identity': ex pal
British model and TV presenter Lizzie Cundy met the former ‘Suits’ star in 2013, shortly before the American actress met Prince Harry. The socialite criticized the Duchess of Sussex for choosing not to attend King Charles' coronation.
Meghan Markle has been accused multiple times of dropping people from her life after she began seriously dating Prince Harry.
One of those people, British reality TV star Millie Mackintosh, has spoken out about her experience with Markle for the first time.
On her podcast, "Mumlemmas & More," Mackintosh explained that she'd been asked about her friendship with the Duchess of Sussex several times by media outlets around the world, but she wanted to wait until she felt comfortable sharing her story and had a platform where she could speak directly without fear of being edited or her words being misconstrued.
Mackintosh said she met Markle around eight years ago when she went to a hotel opening in Istanbul. She admitted she was a fan because Markle's show "Suits" was still airing at the time. They met while ordering drinks at the bar and started talking.
Millie Mackintosh and Meghan Markle were friends before the Duchess of Sussex started seriously dating Prince Harry. (Joe Maher/BAFTA/WPA Pool)
"We just got on really well," Mackintosh said. "We got on like a house on fire and spent the night partying and having fun, and we stayed in touch."
Later, when Markle went to London, Mackintosh said the former actress really didn't know anything about the city, nor did she really know anyone there.
"So, we would hang out. We'd go out for brunch, we'd go to yoga, we'd go for a stroll … I took her to my favorite spots," Mackintosh recalled.
At the time, Mackintosh was going through a rough spot in her marriage that ultimately led to a divorce. Since Markle had been divorced a couple of years from first husband Trevor Engelson at that point, they had "quite a lot to talk about," and the conversations were "bonding."
Multiple people have spoken out about Meghan Markle suddenly dropping them from her life once she began dating Prince Harry. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
"I'm definitely not saying we were best friends," Mackintosh clarified, "but when she was in town, she would let me know. And we would sometimes hang out."
Mackintosh said the last time they saw each other was when Markle was staying at a hotel and invited her to stop by. They spent a "really fun afternoon" with "rosé and margaritas in the pool."
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Millie Mackintosh starred on the British reality show "Made in Chelsea." (Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images)
At some point during the day, Markle revealed to her that she'd been casually talking to Prince Harry, and while Mackintosh thought it was "great," she "didn't think too much about it at the time."
"If only I'd known," she laughed.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been together since 2016. (Angela Weiss)
Mackintosh couldn't recall exactly how long it had been between that conversation and the public reveal of Harry and Markle's relationship. But after the news "blew up," she tried to reach out to her old friend.
"So I messaged her, and I just said, ‘Hey, I hope you’re OK, I'm thinking of you,' and she just sent me this really abrupt message that was really unlike any of her communication before," she revealed.
"It wasn't like I was asking her if it was true," she continued, "I didn't care. It was none of my business. I was just like ‘Are you OK?’ And just what I read from that message was that she maybe needed a little bit of space, she needed to cool off, she was angry, she was maybe under a lot of pressure.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are the parents of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. (Chris Jackson)
"I didn't message her again. I was going to leave it, but I did expect that we would stay in touch. … I thought maybe she'd message back and be like, ‘Look, sorry, you know, everything’s a bit stressful right now,' something."
Instead, Mackintosh "never heard from her again. I also didn't message again because I felt like she just kind of told me to ‘f--- off,’ basically, in that message."
MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY ARE ‘TOXIC’ FOR EACH OTHER, ACCORDING SISTER SAMANTHA
"Meghan Markle ghosted me, babe," Mackintosh joked.
She said her instincts at the time told her Markle essentially believed, "Right, I'm going to be royal now, I don't need Millie in my life."
Meghan Markle's family also says she cut ties with them. (Max Mumby/Indigo)
"Like, what could I offer her at that point?" Mackintosh asked. "She'd met her prince, you know. I was on a reality show."
Mackintosh later added what was "most hurtful" to her was that because she'd posted a photo with Markle before this all happened, the media assumed that they were close friends, suggesting Mackintosh had been the one to introduce Markle and Harry. Mackintosh said several times throughout the podcast she'd never even met him.
Mackintosh felt she'd been dragged through the mud with speculation about why she'd been "uninvited" from the royal wedding even though Markle had "ghosted" her long before that.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left England when they retired from being working royals. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)
Lizzie Cundy, a British model and TV presenter, spoke to Fox News Digital earlier this month and shared a similar story.
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She even remembered that, during their friendship, Markle had told her that she wanted to be on "Made in Chelsea," the reality show that featured Mackintosh.
Meghan Markle skipped King Charles' coronation to stay home with her children. (AP)
Cundy said she too had been "ghosted," explaining, "I understood it. I was a little sad because I thought we got on very well, and there was no one more happy than me for her to meet Harry. I mean, look, she won the lottery.
"He was the most popular royal. We all loved Harry, and we were so happy he met the love of his life. Everyone in England embraced them and loved them.
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"And I soon saw that she [did] this to a lot of people," Cundy added. "I think, looking back, people served a purpose in her life. When you served your purpose, she moved on to the next. I think that’s what she’s like. Meghan gets what Meghan wants."
Fox News Digital's Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.
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