There are different theories as to why Meghan Markle has a strained relationship with his estranged father, Thomas Markle, Sr. Sure, he missed her royal wedding with Prince Harry in 2018, staged paparazzi pictures, and shared their family drama with the tabloids, but what went down to these two's relationship?
Meghan's childhood boyfriend, Joshua Silverstein, claimed her ex and her dad's relationship had been complicated since they were young. Alternatively, the senior Markle said her daughter wanted him to avoid his two other kids, Thomas Markle Jr. and Samantha Markle, though the former actress herself reasoned their strained relationship stemmed from his being untruthful.
Thomas Markle Lying to Meghan
In their infamous interview, Prince Harry's wife told Oprah Winfrey that her father wasn't truthful about talking to the press.
"We called my dad, and we asked him, and he said, 'No, absolutely not,'" she said. "I said the institution has never intervened in anything for us, but they can try to go in and kill this story. But if they do this once, we're not going to be able to use that same leverage to protect our own kids one day."
ALSO READ: The Reasons Prince Harry Left the Royal Family
Thomas evidently lied about it, becoming a turning point in their already-complicated relationship and finding it hard to forgive him.
"I look at Archie, I think about this child, and I genuinely can't imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child," she continued. "I can't imagine it, so it's hard for me to reconcile that."
Decades-Old Strained Relationship
Meghan's ex-boyfriend Joshua Silverstein told Us Weekly the issues between the Duchess of Sussex and Thomas had been going on for decades, knowing them since they were kids.
"I didn't see him often...but I did know that Meghan's relationship with her dad was complicated, and I understood that as most teenager-to-parent relationships are," he explained. "Being there when Meghan's parents were divorced at that time… it's hard raising your kids without the secondary parent. It's all challenging. I don't think there was anything specifically surprising to find out at that time because there were a lot of people that I knew [who] had challenging relationships with their parents."
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Why Prince Harry Is Called a Big Baby?
Though he didn't know what Meghan went through with her dad back then, and things had already been strained between them since then, his interactions with Thomas were still cordial.
Meghan Markle Allegedly Upset with Thomas Markle's Relationship with His Other Kids
In an interview on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Thomas revealed Meghan felt upset because he gave "too much attention to her brother and sister" as he called for them to makeup.
"There are some reasons that she got upset with me, and one was that she thought I was giving too much attention to her brother and sister," he stated.
"They were step [sic] brother and step-sister, but nonetheless, she wanted me to stop talking to them and I couldn't," he continued. "We're at a point where I think both us, we should grow up, talk, make up for the sake of the children now and for ourselves. This is ridiculous; it's been going on for almost four years. It's crazy."
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Reach Out to Thomas Markle
Despite everything said and done, Prince Harry and Meghan still tried to reach Thomas.
"Tom, Harry again!" the Duke of Sussex texted his father-in-law in 2018.
READ MORE: Will Prince Harry Return to the UK?
"Really need to speak to u. U do not need to apologize; we understand the circumstances but 'going public' will only make the situation worse," he added. "If u love Meg and want to make it right please call me as there are two other options which don't involve u having to speak to the media, who incidentally created this whole situation. So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to u. Thanks."
Meghan also called her dad after learning he suffered from a heart attack, offering help and expressing her concern but to no avail. She also texted him to say she and Prince Harry would send him security, which he refused.
For more Meghan Markle news, stay tuned to EpicStream!
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Pop Culture Questions