All The Friends Meghan Markle Lost Since Becoming A Royal
There's no telling whether Meghan Markle knew just how much her life — including her friendships — would change when she started dating Prince Harry. While the two seemed like just a normal couple on some occasions, their lives were anything but. Before Meghan quite literally met her prince charming, she was climbing the ladder to success in Hollywood, thanks to her breakout role in the legal drama "Suits." She became acquainted with plenty of Hollywood's elite, but her wedding to Prince Harry changed that.
Fame can be a nasty thing, and the British press took several bites out of the duchess. To make matters worse, some of her friends started feeding the tabloids some crumbs. Some of those who didn't hear from Meghan again after her relationship with Harry became serious quickly turned from friend to foe. While some mourned the loss of their friendship quietly, others were happy to tell the tabloids just how unhappy they were with the new duchess. Whether or not some of these disgruntled folks were truly close friends of Meghan's remains up for debate.
It's reasonable to conclude that some of Meghan's former friends were the anonymous sources quoted by tabloids who were attacking the duchess' character, and Meghan's inner circle has shrunk considerably since. The drama surrounding all of the friendship breakups, however, has not. If you're curious about Meghan's former friends, you're in the right place, but spoiler alert: There's plenty of drama ahead.
Piers Morgan turned against Meghan after she 'ghosted' him
British broadcaster and journalist Piers Morgan has said plenty of surprising things about the royal family, but it's Meghan Markle he really can't stop talking about — and not in a good way.
Pundits know that Morgan has had beef with Meghan since she first became acquainted with Prince Harry, and his dislike towards her has only grown over the years. If there's one thing Morgan likes to do, it's criticize the duchess. In fact, his comments about Meghan led to his departure from "Good Morning Britain" back in 2021.
If you're wondering why Morgan seemed to always sling mud Meghan's way, it may be because he feels she abandoned him the second she met Harry. While making an appearance on Ireland's "Late Late Show" in 2018, Morgan said that he and Meghan became friends after she followed him on social media. They chatted in the DMs and eventually met up for a drink when Meghan came to the U.K. "We got on brilliantly," Morgan said. But that very night, Meghan met Harry at a party. "The next night, they had a solo dinner together — and that was the last I ever heard from Meghan Markle," Morgan said. He added, "She ghosted me." Morgan went on to give his thoughts on the actor-turned-duchess. "I just think she's a slight social climber, I'm afraid," he continued, saying that her wedding guest list was proof of this. "There was only one member of her family there," he said.
Meghan and Jessica Mulroney's friendship seemed to fizzle out
Meghan Markle and Jessica Mulroney used to be very close. The two became besties while Meghan worked on "Suits," and they went on to have an almost decade-long friendship. They were so close, in fact, that Mulroney's children played vital parts in Meghan's royal wedding. Her two sons were page boys and her daughter was a flower girl. If there was one friendship we expected to last, it was this one. But alas, it appears that Meghan and Mulroney's friendship fizzled out after the duchess started working as a full-time royal — and the two didn't pick up where they left off after Meghan returned to the U.S.
It's thought that the friendship came to an end after Mulroney was embroiled in a racism scandal and accused of white privilege by influencer Sasha Exeter. Mulroney's career took a knock after the allegations, and her reality TV series, "I Do, Redo" was pulled from the air. Meghan never commented on the drama but sources told Page Six that their friendship had been cooling since the royal wedding because Meghan may have felt like Mulroney was "making a career out of the friendship."
More recently, rumors started making the rounds that Mulroney is prepping to write a tell-all memoir in which she will reveal how her and Meghan's friendship deteriorated. "Jessica's book could really cause Meghan some problems," a royal insider told Now To Love.
Meghan's childhood friend Ninaki Priddy sold her out to the tabloids
Nothing stings quite like the betrayal of a childhood friend — just ask Meghan Markle. She and Ninaki Priddy's three-decade long friendship started when they were just 2 years old and attending Little Red Schoolhouse in Los Angeles. They remained friends throughout elementary and high school, and then into adulthood. Priddy was Meghan's maid of honor when she married her first husband, Trevor Engelson, in 2011. After Meghan and Engelson called it quits, Priddy started questioning her childhood friend's integrity, feeling like Meghan moved on from her ex at surprising speed.
Priddy eventually did the unthinkable — she spoke to the British tabloids, telling the Daily Mail that there was "Meghan before fame and Meghan after fame," alleging that the duchess stopped going out with her because she said she would be recognized by the public. This was after only two seasons of "Suits," and Priddy seemed skeptical that Meghan was that well known at the time. "There were instances when I felt she developed a sense of entitlement because she was on the show," Priddy said, explaining that Meghan changed so much that she hardly recognized her anymore.
"All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated — very calculated — in the way she handled people and relationships," Priddy said. "Once she decides you're not part of her life, she can be very cold. It's this shutdown mechanism she has. There's nothing to negotiate."
Lizzie Cundy claims Meghan ghosted her as well
Piers Morgan isn't the only one complaining that Meghan Markle ghosted him. British socialite Lizzie Cundy told GB News that she and Meghan used to be besties before Meghan apparently cut her off as well. "She ghosted me," Cundy said. She seemed pretty pleased that Meghan and Prince Harry had been left off Oprah Winfrey's 69th birthday bash guest list, saying they only had themselves to blame. "I could just imagine her face when she knew she wasn't invited," Cundy said. "I think this snub shows that the tide is turning for them across the pond."
Cundy speculated that the reason the Sussexes were left off the guest list came down to Winfrey being afraid that she might end up in an unfavorable light in the couple's next documentary or tell-all book. "They've seen what she's like, and they're just thinking, 'No, we don't want anything to do with her,'" the socialite said.
Aside from reveling in Meghan's assumed misery at not being invited to the party of the year, Cundy also claimed that at least half of everything Meghan said during her tell-all interview with Winfrey was "total lies and rubbish."
Millie Mackintosh's friendship with Meghan ended with an abrupt text message
"Made in Chelsea" star Millie Mackintosh and Meghan Markle became fast friends after they met at an event at a Turkish hotel. They traveled together and couldn't stop gushing about each other on Instagram, but everything changed after Meghan started dating Prince Harry.
While royal wedding planning was in full swing, royal insiders told the Daily Mail that Mackintosh was one of those helping Meghan put her dream day together and that she might even be one of the bridesmaids. Unfortunately, Mackintosh wasn't chosen as a bridesmaid. In fact, she didn't even get an invite to the big day. Ouch.
Mackintosh eventually opened up about the snub on her "Mumlemmas" podcast, saying that she and Meghan bonded because they were both divorced and shared the same interests. They spent plenty of time together, so when she heard that Meghan was dating Harry and saw the media circus, she sent her friend a message. "Hey, I hope you're okay, thinking of you," she wrote. Meghan, however, apparently responded with a blunt reply that shocked Mackintosh. "I didn't message her again, but I did expect that we would stay in touch," Mackintosh said. "I thought maybe she'd message back and be like, 'Sorry, you know everything is a bit stressful right now.' ... I never heard from her again." She added, "I felt like she'd kind of told me to f**k off basically in that message. So I did. And we haven't spoken since."
Meghan and Patrick J. Adams no longer speak
Meghan Markle and her "Suits" co-star Patrick J. Adams' used to have a close relationship, with Adams even defending Meghan on X (formerly Twitter) when the British media was tearing her to shreds. And so it came as a surprise to many when Adams revealed that he is no longer in touch with Meghan. Sitting down for an interview with the Radio Times, Adams confessed that he had as much a part in the estranged friendship as Meghan. "I have no doubt I could pick up the phone and call her at any moment, but I don't know what I would say," Adams explained, admitting that he was a little intimidated (via People). "I guess I'm scared about the idea of breaking through whatever walls exist to have that conversation," he added.
They may not speak anymore, but Adams made it clear that there's no bad blood between him and Meghan. After Meghan and Prince Harry moved to California, Adams told Access Hollywood that he was thrilled to have his former co-star back in the U.S. and glad to see her speaking up for causes she believes in. "I miss my friend, but I'm very happy she's doing well," he said. Adams also told Radio Times that it pained him to see the media breaking down Meghan's character. "Knowing what's in Meghan's heart and knowing how compassionate she can be, it's hard to watch," he said.
Gina Torres said she and Meghan are on different paths
Since attending Meghan Markle's royal wedding in 2018, Gina Torres hasn't had much contact with her former "Suits" co-star. During an interview in 2019, Torres admitted that they'd lost touch. However, she made it clear that it wasn't because of any bad blood. "There's no story in why. What I will say is, if I could offer a window into what it is to be an actor and live this crazy life when you're an actor, you meet hundreds of people during your career," Torres said (via Express). She explained that she and Meghan were living very different lives, but that it doesn't take away from the good memories they made while filming "Suits." "It's a no-harm, no-foul thing," Torres said.
By the time the 2024 Golden Globes rolled around, the popularity of "Suits" had skyrocketed, and the cast was set to make an appearance at the event. Torres told Variety ahead of time that the cast members were all on a text thread and that they were excited about the show's renewed popularity. When asked whether Meghan was part of that text thread, Torres said that none of them have her number. "We just don't, so she'll see. She'll watch. She'll be happy that we're here," Torres said.
Wendell Pierce was critical of Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview
One "Suits" cast member who's probably not on Meghan Markle's list of favorites is Wendell Pierce, who played her father on the show. After Meghan opened up about her mental health struggles during a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Pierce criticized the royal family — and Meghan. Speaking to LBC Radio in the U.K. after the interview aired, Pierce said that the content was "insignificant" when one compared it to the devastation the COVID-19 pandemic was still wreaking across the globe. "[The interview was] full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," Pierce said, quoting Shakespeare (via HuffPost). "It is quite insensitive and offensive that we are all complicit in this sort of palace... gossip. In the midst of so much death, I think it is insignificant."
Pierce later took to X (formerly Twitter) to say that the British press was using his words against him, making it clear that he is critical of the monarchy because he sees it as archaic, but that he still supports Meghan. "I also told her she would always have a friend in me. Because I had no interest in the interview doesn't change that," he wrote. He reiterated that he was not insensitive to Meghan's mental health struggles and that he'd lost a family member to suicide. He also criticized the Daily Mail for twisting his words. "As I told Meghan, I support her and wish her all the best," he wrote.
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Meghan's friendship with Victoria Beckham went sideways
A few years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to California, it came to light that David and Victoria Beckham kicked their relationship with the Sussexes to the curb. Trouble reportedly started brewing when Meghan became worried that the Beckhams were selling her and Harry out to the press. A phone call was apparently made to the Beckhams to address these concerns, and it did not go well. A source told the Daily Mail that David was "absolutely bloody furious" about the allegations. "Any making up now is so unlikely," the source added. Tom Bower's book, "Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors," covers the whole drama. According to Bower, Harry made the call to David to address the issue. "Outraged, Beckham's truthful denials damaged their relationship," Bower wrote.
Meghan reportedly first became suspicious of Victoria after a tabloid published a piece about their friendship and quoted a source who had privileged information that she thought only Victoria knew. "It later turned out the leak probably came from a beauty salon. Afterwards, they got things back on track, but it took a few months," a source told The Sun. But despite trying to make amends, Meghan and Victoria's friendship may truly be over, as she and Harry were not invited to Victoria's 50th birthday bash in 2024.
Meghan and Serena Williams' friendship might be on the rocks
Meghan Markle's friendship with Serena Williams has been widely publicized, but rumors that the two are at odds surfaced after Meghan didn't attend Williams' baby shower. Many thought this very odd, especially since Williams planned Meghan's surprise baby shower when she was pregnant with Prince Archie. Video footage that was shared of Williams' shower showed many of her close friends celebrating her soon-to-be-born baby girl, but Meghan wasn't present in any of the videos or snaps. Of course, it's possible that she was there but simply didn't want to be filmed or photographed.
Rumors of a possible rift between the friends ramped up when Meghan announced that she'll be partnering with Lemonada to launch a new podcast and thanked everyone who appeared on her previous podcast "Archetypes." The only problem is that Williams' name was notably missing from the list. While this might have been a blunder and not an intentional snub, many can't help but wonder whether the friendship is in trouble. Here's hoping the rumors are just that and that the two are still getting along swimmingly behind the scenes.