When did you first realize that the Duchess of Sussex was going to cut off her father? For me, it wasn’t the the issue of the staged paparazzi photos, which was Thomas Markle’s first huge “scandal.” I honestly believed – and argued at the time – that the royal family and Thomas Markle could work through that issue, considering that the whole thing had been manufactured by the British tabloids who were then acting absolutely shocked at the turn of events. I didn’t realize that Thomas Markle was a gigantic problem until a few days later, when he began to call up TMZ to tell “his side” of the story. He wouldn’t even speak to his daughter – he just used TMZ as his mouthpiece exclusively in the week leading up to the royal wedding. It was chaos and it was awful. And he’s still calling up TMZ, and not only that, he doing scripted interviews with Piers Morgan. Thomas Markle is a mess and Meghan has every right to cut off communication with him. According to Richard Kay at the Daily Mail, that’s exactly what she’s doing – you can read Kay’s piece here. Some highlights:
Has Meghan already cut off contact with her dad? “According to reliable sources close to 73-year-old Markle, the father of three has not spoken to either Meghan or Harry since his interview with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid 12 days ago.”
The Piers Morgan interview: The extent of the interview, conducted live, left seasoned courtiers incredulous. The duchess, too, was said this week to have been completely ‘taken by surprise’ by his comments.
A friend of Thomas Markle told Kay: “He is feeling upset by [the royals’ silence]. Before the wedding there was a relationship. He spoke to Harry a lot in the build-up, but since the interview, nothing. He feels shunned. He thought they might have had plans to come out to see him by now but he hasn’t heard if there are. He doesn’t care if they don’t come for a while — he knows how busy they must be — he just wants to know they are coming. At the moment he can’t go to them; the problems with his heart were real enough.’
There are more offers for paid interviews too: A source says, “He is considering what he’ll do next. Will he do another interview? He just might.”
Meghan tried to persuade him to come to London long before the wedding: ‘Meghan told him just to get on a plane, he didn’t even need to pack, everything would be provided for him,’ says a friend who speaks to him frequently. ‘He said he felt he would just get in the way and he would come nearer the time. Meghan arranged for suits to be made under a false name by a Beverly Hills tailor and shoes had been ordered from [luxury English shoe manufacturer] Crockett and Jones. He told me he had written his father-of–the-bride speech in good time.’ Markle also told friends that Prince Harry offered to arrange for an official from the British embassy to be a ‘liaison’ figure for him — an offer he had declined.
There are meetings about what to do about Thomas: In London this week it was suggested that the royal strategy was to do nothing in the hope that the storm would die down. In fact, royal advisers have met to discuss what they can possibly do, and there is concern about his long-term health. One idea was to provide Markle with a property and an allowance, but it was discarded early on. ‘There are other Markles out there and it might encourage them to come out of the woodwork,’ seems to be the refrain.
But what will probably happen is that Meghan will cut off Thomas completely: ‘She’s a royal now — a cultural gulf is opening up between them,’ says one figure who has observed the crisis at close hand.
There’s so much more in that piece, and I feel pretty confident that Richard Kay actually spoke to Thomas Markle and Kay just claimed that Markle was a “source close to…” Which is how royal reporters are used to working – they’re not used to family members of duchesses speaking directly to TMZ. So, this ends up feeling a bit manufactured too: Kay probably spoke to Thomas Markle for a story Kay was writing about how Thomas Markle’s interviews to the press are hurting Meghan. It’s a snake eating its own tail. And it won’t stop any time soon.
Personally, I still believe that Thomas Markle should just be cut off. Take the long view, which is what they were doing with Meghan’s tacky, awful half-siblings too: just wait for them to show their asses and eventually people will realize that they have no access to Meghan, and no one will want to talk to them. Thomas Markle isn’t some sad sack who just wants to be understood: he’s just as nasty and awful as Meghan’s half-siblings. Thomas Markle knows he’s doing awful sh-t and hurting his daughter, and he doesn’t care. He’s collecting money and selling her out for the hell of it.
Photos courtesy of WENN, IVT.
So does Thomas really think doing paid interviews/talking to TMZ about Meghan will bring them closer together? At this rate he will be lucky to even get a text message from his daughter.
As for him being a doting grandfather to any future grandchildren, he will have to go online or buy a magazine to see them. The man is delusional
If he doesn’t see his grandchildren think of the interviews! Does uk have grandparent rights laws? I can imagine him on tmz threatening to sue (for publicity) while never actually hiring a lawyer.
Most grandparents right laws require a pre-existing relationship with the grandchildren and deceased or divorced parents. If they cut him off now, they are making sure he has no chance.
He has revealed himself to be a narcissist. Given his personality problem, I doubt thinking about or being empathetic with others, including his children, is really something he can do. He may really be baffled, these kinds of people have significant limitations that make it difficult for them to maintain relationships or understand others on even a rudimentary level. He can’t change; there’s no fix for what’s wrong with him. The only thing you can do is walk away; he will never refrain from malicious behavior if it means foregoing short-term gains for himself. There is no long game.
Can’t envision this guy as a doting grandfather. It’s all about him.
For the right amount of $$$$ I bet he would pretend to be grandfather of the year
Yes, he would likely dote on the dollars. 😉
With people like him they don’t see others as people, only tools to be used to further their own needs and desires. Its telling that he has NEVER EVER said anything about how his talking to the press makes his daughter feel, he knows she’ll be upset but DOES NOT CARE. He’s the victim not Meghan and that’s all he is interested in talking about.
And if he and his vile family think the British taxpayer is going to give them money, I have a nice bridge in London near a nice white tower to sell them.
The more he talks the more support Meghan will get in cutting him off. Am pretty sure he’ll be on the Jeremy Kyle show, he’s the normal type of guest for that show.
This guy, seriously, has absolutely no integrity. He is a prize twat. Delusional, bucket-mouthed, disloyal, attention craving, greedy, mercenary… What a degenerate.
God am not even his daughter and I need to cut him out of my life.
Sadly, he probably knows that it doesn’t. My guess is that he’s trading all that in for some quick cash. 🙁
Yes. As I understand it, he has only done interviews for money, is that right? TMZ and Piers Morgan? So it’s not like he went on CNN or somewhere he wouldn’t get paid. That speaks volumes as to the kind of person he is.
He is absolurely dreadful. Poor Meghan. You can certainly see that her lovely, modest, and dignified mother was her primary influence.
Wow. Thomas Markle is a piece of work….father of the year he is not. It’s so true you can’t choose your relatives, but you can choose your family. Megan needs to ghost Dad just like she did the rest of the Markle clan.
And Meghan’s mom, Doria, has not been seen or heard from since the wedding. Meghan knows who has her back and which parent she can depend on.
Yes. All he had to do was shut up and show up.
And I’m sure the last time he heard from Doria was before the wedding. It seems like Doria too is concerned that the moment she calls him he’ll call TMZ and spill how she berated him. Best to cut him off completely. I think the half brother is no longer talking either. That or the tabloids used him and chewed him out and right now are not that interested and n whatever he’s gotta say. Saad
Unfortunately at this point I dont think he’s ever going to “stop talking” to the press. It will get to the point where he keeps digging his own grave that even the people who defend him (I can’t believe there are people out there) turn on him OR people just stop caring and listening to the man.
If he was a woman or worse still a POC he would have been eaten up alive by the press. You know white male supremacy causes the system to be on his side.
“You don’t even have to pack.” You can hear the desperation in her voice. That’s the confusing part. If he really wanted to sell her out all along why wouldn’t he be over in England as soon as possible?
I think he was afraid to come, the pressure to be accepted, and acceptable, to the RF was overwhelmingly terrifying for him. And now that the spotlight of the actual wedding is over, he feels that the millions of eyes that would’ve watched him limp down the aisle won’t be on him (he says he has a bad knee), he’s free to whine that he was left out. All he seems to really care about is meeting TQ and his “royal family” as he calls them. I would bet dollars to donuts that Vonnie is whispering in his ear all the time about how he has been shunted off, tossed aside, etc. and that this is the ONLY way to get Meghan’s attention. To me, it feels like he only wants to meet everyone to have more to spill in future press leaks.
M & H would be wise to freeze him out. Otherwise, every private moment shared with him (in person or in pics) will be tabloid fodder, either by him, or appropriated by his white trash kids/extended family. So very sad that her own father is causing her so much pain. Doria is the only classy family member she has.
I find his obsession of meeting TQ at BP to be quite alarming – that is all he is interested in. I think he saw the treatment Doria got and is bitter now as he’s not going to get the same but he has only himself to blame – not that he will every admit that.
His obsession with The Queen is creepy as h**l. God, he could take so much lessons in class and appropriate, dignified behavior from his wife.
@Digital, yes, Tom Sr. obsession with TQ and BP, to the point that seeing Meghan is only to get those things and has nothing to do with actually seeing and visiting HER, is alarming, but it’s also telling. I think you are 100% right that this has to do with Doria having met TQ (as well as sitting opposite doing the wedding).
You know those stories Meghan told about hr parents having dinner together on Sundays with her, or her parents going on vacation together with her? I think that had more to do with Tom Sr.not wanting Doria to be viewed by Meghan as “more” than he was. That’s how narcissists are, they always have to be the center of everything. I think those dinners and vacations together was Tom Sr., in some small way, trying to assert being the “center.” Not because he really have a sh** giving his daughter some nice family moments or anything.
Like many here I have zero pity for this guy. IMO, he showed what he was about the minute he ran to TMZ and started talking the first time. I see no reason to think his narcissistic behavior was something that just came about recently.
No! He stayed in Mexico so he could sell her out! He planned it that way all along. It’s so disgusting. He really thought about the easiest way to make some money. He would have been surrounded by people once he got to England. They would have been watching him like a hawk. I don’t care how strained his relationship is/was with his daughter you don’t sell her out.
Who has he promised a scoop to for when she visits…?
Because then he couldn’t play the victim… Je would actually have to tske responsibility for his actions and work on a relationship with his daughter.
Cut him off…
Yes, ‘stop cancer cells growing by cutting off their food supply’. He is nothing without accessing to Meghan.
I am just glad that it’s the white side of the family that’s tacky, tbh. As a poc in Brexit Britain, I don’t need any more trouble, lol.
Lol so true, people were worried about the black side 😂🍾
Sadly they still post about Kate’s dancer cousin who she never met, so not having current access but decades of previous access will still make him lucrative to the British rags.
I have no advice. I can see why London team is worried, I don’t think there’s anything they can do to control him, so they’ll probably start threatening the British outlets that interview him. But threatening the press has backfired so often for the young royals.
@Eliza if they still write about Kate’s cousin that she never met, it still isn’t bad IMO. That story has gotten stale, you can only flight a dead horse for so long. At some point, this guy story is gonna dry out and people will stop to care. Look how soon it took for Vonnie and TM jr. To no longer be interesting. See how soon the tabloids turned on Vonnie? Same will happen to TM Sr. Meghan just needs to freeze all them out. There’s nothing TM can say now that is shocking, TBH. He can give all the interviews he wants but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a sleezeball. Meghan just needs to not contact them and just hide her time. The only thing is if it’s ur father, you still love them and it hurts to not contact them.so I understand it’s more easily said than done.
For the love of God shut up.
Remember the good old days when he was a “recluse” and deeply private, can we go back to that please.
“He doesn’t care if they don’t come for a while — he knows how busy they must be — he just wants to know they are coming”
They’re not coming. Don’t worry about it.
I bet that if all these things were done by Doria, nobody in the press would have tried to justify her but you know Thomas Markle is a white man
Can you imagine the circus if this was Doria? OMG….she’d be given no excuses for her behavior and would be dragged and vilified the likes of which we haven’t seen…smdh
You may be right @Melania. I admit I did try to defend TM initially. My reason was that Meghan had spoken about growing up on the set of Married With Children where he worked. She said she went there after school as a pre-teen and young teen-ager. She also said she, TM, and Doria would have meals together and vacation together long after the divorce. So it did seem he cared about her and she had a relationship with him. IF he is a narcissist (not totally sure myself) he didn’t become one when Meghan reached adulthood! He also didn’t initially speak out about her. I know some have said that was part if an evil plot but I don’t buy that. Personally I think his mental issues have developed more recently (as in since he retired to Mexico) I do agree though it would be problematic for Meghan to have a relationship with him now. I think he is totally influenced by the half-sibs who by all accounts have been jealous of Meghan for her entire life.
This is funny when white people do rotten things is mental illness, when blacks do it they’re thugs.
Stop using mental illnesses for as an excuse.
I am just realizing my mother has narcissistic personality disorder. I am 39 years old and it is devastating. I know little about Meghan’s personality, but narcissistic parents often create very empathetic children who provide for their emotional needs and narcissistic supply. Many children of narcissists NEVER realize this about their parents and spend their lives attempting closeness with the parent and believing flaws in the relationship are their fault. That is how we we were trained. So, if Tom is a narcissist, yes he has been one for his whole life almost. But Meghan may not have realized it and family dinners and going to his set aren’t indicative, imo, that he wasn’t one back then.
@Peg- The press may do that but I’m willing to consider mental illness as a reason for behavior regardless of skin color. Wouldn’t it be better to stop calling black people “thugs” than to stop considering mental illness in the case if whites?
@ Malachite: same here.
I’m still trying to curb my instinct of trying feeling responsible for and managing other peoples feelings even though I’m almost 33!
If you are looking for helpful resources Reddit’s r/raisedbynarcissists page is wonderful.
Oh my goodness, this! There are a few people on here who were just so certain for months, even after the multiple TMZ interviews and the GMB interview, that TM was just “naive” – all evidence to the contrary. You just know that Doria wouldn’t have been given that excuse.
No, they would not have given Doria any excuses. They would also not still be talking to her, or paying her for interviews.
He’s so upset about how upset Meghan is with him for doing an interview that he’s going to…do another interview.
Good lord, this man
Is he trying to push the same “what a bitch, not visiting her dear old daddy [who treated her like shit and sold her out” story that the tabloids are? All over there are comments going “Isn’t is just so *odd* that Meghan hasn’t taken Harry to visit her father?” trying to push the She’s-A-Sociopathic-User angle. No, it’s not odd. He’s just like a toddler who can’t deal with consequences.
He burned the bridge, now he wants to sit there and watch her fix it. He can bugger off
TBH they are pushing it as in the minds of Daddy dearest and the rest of the horrible Markle clan this is the truth, they are desperate for attention and money (mostly money).
He will never shut up and there will always be a tabloid that will be willing to give him money for his lies.
His trash children spent months trashing Meghan in the media. He did not say anything. His eldest daughter called his black wife, the mother of his youngest child, the maid. He did not say anything.
Now, he has the audacity to run to the tabloids to cry and complains that he feels “shuned”??§ Give me a break!
He is an awful man and a poor excuse of a father. He is lucky Meghan even wanted him at her wedding in the first place.
Of course he will because he doesn’t care about her. We should no longer refer to him as her father. A father wouldn’t repeatedly hurt his daughter and compromise her happiness.
Based on his own words and actions, her father seems self-centered and manipulative. Mr. Privacy turned into Chatty Thomas once he saw dollar signs.
Illness/being aged is a tactic to get what he wants, while making as little effort on his part to maintain the relationship. At some point, you have to decide if the time and effort are worth it. People like this can create enormous stress for those around them.
I don’t speak to my own father. I cut him off 4 years ago when I just had it with him and how he treated me. It was painful at the time, but it was honestly the best decision that I ever made.
I just feel so bad for Meghan every time I read about her father. I empathise with her so much. It must be awful to go through this so publicly, especially when you’re trying to enjoy being newly married and when so many people are trying to pick her apart.
Same. I haven’t spoken to my father in ten years. He still comes around every so often to try to hurt me, so my feelings of guilt have faded completely. I feel for Meghan.
I’m about to hit 15 years without speaking to mine (prior to that, I didn’t see him for 10 years). I have zero regrets. Mine is toxic, narcissistic, abusive, and his brain has been addled over the years thanks to his excessive drinking and drug use. He brings nothing but drama and negativity to my life, and I have no qualms about cutting him off. The only thing he’s good at is knowing exactly where to cut me emotionally, which is what happened 15 years ago when I tried to re-establish contact. After that I was DONE.
Because of this I have an enormous amount of empathy for Meghan and I fully support her cutting him off to maintain her mental health and minimise her heartache moving forward. I wish her nothing but the best and hope she truly has found the family she never really had (except for her lovely mother of course).
I suspected something was wrong with him kind of from the beginning. Something always felt off about how sketchy his story was and it never added up. Meghan’s lack of contact with the others was telling and the fact that his children behaved so horribly. Not just one. Then the early divorce and the “will he or won’t he come to the wedding” nonsense. Who does that? Who creates that much drama? Oh, a Narcissist does. Every single thing has to be about them. I have never in my life seen a man act like he has about his daughter’s wedding. Instead of being supportive and excited FOR HER he had to grab some victim attention for himself. I saw this bitch clear as day. I KNOW his type.
When they said he had never met Harry I knew right then something much bigger was going on. Nothing ever truly made sense with him. I still think there is a story there but it is probably better left alone.
This man is DEEPLY flawed and knowing people who have cut off their toxic parents I know Meghan has probably been coming to this moment of complete No Contact for a long time.
I agree.
I agree that there is something wrong with him. What? I don’t know. 5 minutes of fame-ism? I thought the interview with Piers was a part guilt part I’m looking stupid as hell interview (albeit paid) but any subsequent interviews, in my mind, are simply for the easy money interviews.
@magnoliarose – good points – makes a lot of sense. I feel sad for Meghan as she seemed to be hoping against hope he would come through for her only to have those hopes dashed again. I guess Harry’s “family she never had” comment was closer to home than the public knew – yet.
A couple of things, can’t we now just ignore this guy? I mean this is an interview about another interview with a bit of gossip supposedly from the royals about Meghan cutting him off all in the Daily Mail with a bit of TMZ thrown in. Seriously, this guy doesn’t deserve this kind of attention, even from these publications. I hate seeing him get this. As far as Meghan is concerned. It’s up to her what she does. One thing I am sure of we don’t know the whole story.
Now as far as being as bad as the half-siblings, I don’t think so. My reason is what he is saying about them isn’t really bad. Sure he shouldn’t say it, but I do think it makes a big difference in degree. The siblings are calling her a gold digger among other things and making money off of it. Yes that is worse. Somehow with Trump, I think we have lost the ability to see degrees.
Agree re the degrees and the motivation. And agree that he and all this background tabloid noise should be ignored.
I feel really sorry for Meghan having to contend with this alongside all the other things she’s having to contend with but I hope she does what’s best for her, regarding her father, and is not influenced by or coerced into doing what other people think is best for her.
I actually think he is worse than the siblings. It’s one thing to be sold out by people who you were never close to, but your own father? That is far worse. She has had him in her life, she loves him. That knife is the sharpest because of who wields it.
And now, even better, he’s setting himself up to look like the victim. Now every time she has a milestone it won’t be about Meghan, it’ll be about Thomas and how he’s missing out on being in her life. He is worse than her siblings. His motivations are exactly the same as theirs, avarice, his tactics are simply different. He’ll make sure everyone feels sorry for him every time he sticks a knife in her back.
But then, she knows him better than any of us so I think, out of respect to her, we should just stop talking about this and leave it to her to privately manage.
The fact we’re discussing this and continuing to make a big deal out of it is, very likely, just adding to her anguish.
Surely, for anyone who actually cares about how much all of this must be impacting upon her, that’s as good a reason as any to just stop giving him time or attention.
I see your point about a father selling her out being worse than the siblings she wasn’t close to, but the content of his messages have been positive for Meghan and Harry, and to me that outweighs it. Granted some of the things he said about not meeting the other royals isn’t positive, but it’s hardly calling any of them a gold digger or worse which is what the half sister did.
Also, he’s only a victim if we let him be one. To me Meghan and the royals are ignoring him in the media at least. Any other contact they may have is private, and I feel like we should ignore him too. Mainly cause it’s the same ole thing.
There is a small part of me that feels bad for her dad. Not because I think Thomas Markle has been misunderstood but because there’s something about him that’s off. In a sad, kind of crazy way. He’s already sold her out to the press and given interviews. How could he possibly think she wants anything to do with him, right now? How could he be upset that they have not come to see him yet?
I just don’t understand how he can get away with playing the victim here. He’s been awful and embarrassed his daughter on a global level. Of course, this could all very well be an act orchestrated to make us feel bad for him but he doesn’t seem that smart and neither does anyone else around him.
I do feel bad for him a tiny bit, he’s just some old schlubby white guy with no manners or money. He’s too old to change. It’s that age old question-what do we owe our parents as they get older? How much of it is their true character and how much of it is like weird genuine mental issues that sort of prevent people from making the right choices?
I think Kensington Place told Meghan to cut ties, and she tested him with honeymooning in Canada, of course he ran to TMZ, since when TMZ was reporting about the Royal family before they became Thomas’ mouth piece.
TBH I think she cut ties with him a long time ago and was why Harry never met him. I think with the wedding she was put in a position where it was expected that her father would walk her down, hence why she reached out to him and then it all blew up in her face.
He’s a toxic narcissist, nothing she can do will ever make him shut up – he sees himself as the victim who wants all the attention and sympathy. I still don’t believe he was ever sick, narcissist lie esp about their health to get attention.
Hmm, interesting take, Digital, and one I can see also being true. That maybe Meghan and Harry actually tried to warn KP what Tom Sr. was, but “image” dictated that she had to invite him. And then yeah, it all ended up blowing up in KPs face .
It would back Harry saying the RF was “the family she never had” (excluding Doria of course, whom he said in the engagement interview was “amazing”) . . . AND it would also back Meghan releasing that statement in her own words when he father dropped out of the wedding. Some of the way that statement was worded had me thinking “she KNEW this was going to happen, she KNEW he’d pull something like this, and someone – or a group of someones – didn’t listen and made her invite him. And now she has to try and fix this mess.”
Yes!! I think you’re right. She didn’t have much to do with him but because of public expectations/fantasies about weddings and what parents SHOULD be, she held out an olive branch and he smacked it out of her hand and stomped all over it.
Mel, your metaphor is so apt! The topic is sad, but you described what happened so vividly that it made me smile 🙂
Yeah I thought the same. If the press stops covering him, it will quiet down.
I’m thinking you’re right @Peg. Some idiot in a British Tabloid (the Sun I think) wrote that Harry wouldn’t like Meghan cutting off her dad in the long run. Frankly, having never me the guy AND the fact that he hates the press for what happened to his mother, I think Harry would back the idea of cutting Tom Sr. off completely after he failed such a test too.
Yes that was a completely asinine article by a very ingnorant human being. We don’t owe anybody, even if they are our parents, anything if they exploit and betray us.
IMO, Tom Sr. never had any intention of going to the wedding. He was going to find some way to back out of it, even if the whole staged picture fiasco hadn’t happened. Somehow, some way, he was going to make the wedding all about HIM. Because that’s how narcissists are. He didn’t go to her first wedding either, and I’m beginning to think it wasn’t because he wasn’t invited.
There was a warning bell when it was said he hadn’t met Harry. At first, I thought it was because Tom Sr. hadn’t been cleared as okay in that regard, or Meghan and Harry knew how the guys was. Well, I still think they knew, but I also think Harry DID try to meet him, but Tom Sr. kept blowing a meeting off. Because, you know, as a Prince – and his daughter’s future husband – the focus wouldn’t just be on Tom Sr., and Tom Sr.couldn’t have that.
The way that man keeps talking about meeting TQ and “my royal family” and “being a part of history” shows what HE’S about. I’d bet one of the reasons Tom Sr. would have dinner with Doria and Meghan after the divorce or go on vacation too was because of his clear narcissism, and always wanting to have the focus on HIM. He never did that sh** to try and be there as a father to his daughter. It was all about him, and it’s STILL all about him.
Let him keep selling his daughter out. Every time he does it, it’ll just make it so Meghan and Harry continue to freeze him out. Especially when he keeps talking about himself, and continues to show ZERO focus for his daughter.
I agree with everything you are saying. I believe too that he would have found a reason not to attend the wedding and this is a way for him to victimize himself. I didn’t realize he didn’t attend her first wedding either, so this make sense. What I don’t understand is, if he is a narcissist and loves attention, why did he isolate himself in Mexico years ago? That seems at odds with his narcissism. Maybe it was a way to relieve himself of his parental duties. Just a thought.
I can’t imagine the amount of stress this young couple must be experiencing as a result of her father. They had a whirlwind romance, lived in two different countries / continents, and ever since she moved to the UK, it has been nothing but dramatics from her family members. I hope Harry is being supportive and loving, and that these shenanigans are not too damaging to their relationship.
Personally, I think it’s done nothing but bring them closer together. Because it’s clear, at least to me, that Harry knew damn well what her family was and was like. His comment at Christmas about “the family she never had” and his follow up of his comment “speaking for itself” when he refused to walk it back after the subsequent backlash tells me he isn’t blindsided by this at all. Or, at least, not a lot of it.
I believe such things bring the couple closer, so I totally agree. I actually experienced it so from first-hand experience it’s true. It’s a total nightmare for the PR team though.
I also think part of the reason why Daddy is so extra special whiney is that the RF has made her very welcome to their family. They have gone out of their way to show that she’s now part of THEIR family and that is probably what is pissing him off the most. On the wedding day, Chuck sent out a message that both Meghan and her mother were now a part of his family, Thomas is jealous its the simple. Now that the wedding is over he is desperate, very desperate to have the same photo ops as his ex wife – it will never happen as we all know he will sell it to the highest bidder.
Ugh.
God, what an a**hole. Serious narcissism @ work on the Markle side. I normally shy away from armchair diagnoses, but these people are *brutal.*
According to other gossip stories, Meghan’s relationship w/her dad has been tenuous for years. Sounded as if they were in a decent stretch till this BS w/the wedding came about. Sounds like she really wanted him to just get on a plane last year & meet her soon-to-be in-laws, but he wavered.
Maybe he truly was nervous as all hell @ first & couldn’t do it…but when it’s your own kid marrying into any family, you’d eventually suck it up & put on your big boy pants to support your daughter, even if it means meeting royalty & being scared to death.
TM sure proved that stage fright (if you will) *wasn’t* the actual cause of his decision to bail in the lead-up to the wedding, though – look @ him now, going on morning TV & sharing anything he feels (exaggerated or not) about his kid’s private convos, then having the nerve to bitch that QE should meet him if she’s meeting Trump ’cause he’s ‘not as bad.’
How defiantly clueless/ego-driven one must be to NOT see that your own appalling behavior is the reason for a communication cut-off. Total narcissist, just like his older kids. “Golly, I shared private info [or outright lied] about Harry & Meghan. All they asked of me was to not speak to the press. So I did a few interviews – one televised – & now they won’t call me. Why?!” Dumbass.
Maybe keep crying to your BFFs @ TMZ, since you have them on speed dial. Sure didn’t have Meghan’s digits handy before blabbing to Harvey & Piers. SO selfish.
I hate telling abyone to cut off a parent, as I lost my own, but girl…forget him. Keep living your best life. Everyone will forget TM in due time when it becomes obvious that he’s been disowned. He’ll have 0 stories to share.
Whew! Sorry for the novella, but this really irritated me.
The Markle debacle has been badly handled by both the palace and Meghan & Harry from the start. Harry has never met his father-in-law which raises serious questions. They should have made a personal visit to see Meghan’s father long before the engagement was announced, that is how you try to build a relationship. And why weren’t Meghan’s parents flown into England weeks before the wedding, instead they were only scheduled to arrive on the same week as the wedding where they were going to meet Harry’s family for the first time. That in itself is a lot of pressure to put on them. The father is also clearly hard up for cash hence why he has been selling his story.
Before Thomas Markle started speaking to the media many of us had gathered that something wasn’t quite right with him. The palace knew they were dealing with a potentially loose cannon and for months did nothing to prevent it. All we’ve had is palace pr insisting that ‘assistance’ was offered to Thomas Markle, but their approach has been weak & ineffective. Even on the day of the engagement announcement, as expected the media had swamped the home of Meghan’s mother. Doria was reduced to personally handing out a photocopied statement from KP to warn off the media and she should never have been put in that situation where she’s having to hand out leaflets to the press herself outside her own home. If anything she should have been moved to a secured home if at least temporarily.
I’m sorry but the whole handling of Meghan’s parents leading up to the wedding & the aftermath has just been very bizarre and amateurish.
Doria didn’t go to London weeks before because she has a freakin’ job. (And no, she didn’t quit it like some reports said. Someone asked her if she was staying in London for a while and she said no, she had to get back to her job and her dogs). I don’t know if you live in the states, but you can’t just take “weeks” off because you kid is getting married. Doesn’t matter who it’s to. It’s why most wedding are held on the weekend. So more people can come without having to miss work to do so.
And get this – maybe Doria didn’t want to be moved from her home to some “secure location.” The Middletons didn’t move from their home when Kate got engaged. They stayed right at their house, walked outside, and read the statement they prepared to the press. Doria obvious didn’t feel like reading the statement she had to deliver, and just handed it out (and which I suspect KP wrote for her). Their kids were just getting married, not becoming heads of state or something.
And did you read anything of the above article? Apparently, Meghan AND Harry kept begging Thomas to just get on a plane and come to London WEEKS before the wedding was to happen. He didn’t even have to pack, just get on a plane and Meghan would have tailor made clothes ready for him. HE REFUSED. You can not force a 70-something year old man to do something he doesn’t want to do. And getting on a plane and going to London to support his daughter isn’t something he wanted to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if meeting Harry before the engagement was something he didn’t want to do either.
Selling her out to the press for cash however, IS something he wanted to do. And something he seems to want to keep doing.
Her father is NOT hard up for cash either. He’s said so himself in many of his post-wedding interviews. He not only has a nice pension, but own a condo in LA which he leases out. He isn’t taking the money because he’s hard up. He’s likely taking it for someone else (Samantha).
Frankly, with every word and thing Tom Sr. has said and done since the week of the wedding until now, I’m more and more inclined to lay the majority of the blame at HIS feet, and his alone. The man is a clear narcissist, and there is very little you can do to get such a person to do something if it doesn’t all revolve or focus on THEM.
Thank you! I wish people would stop talking about Thomas Markle like he is a child. He is a grown man who is making a choice to talk to the media. It’s not Meghan’s job to control anyone. Whatever happened to personal responsibility?
@Missy, apparently, for some people, when it comes to a 70-something year old white man, there IS no personal responsibility. Meghan and Harry are just supposed to magically force this adult man to do what they say. And if he doesn’t do it well, that’s just their fault. *eyeroll*
I’ve said it more times than I can count: the man worked in Hollywood for decades. He’s won Emmys. He’s not stupid about the media, and he proved that when he ran talking to TMZ, but couldn’t somehow be bothered to call back his OWN DAUGHTER. People wanting to find some way to infantilize this grown-ass man whose just been showing more and more what a narcissist he is just make me continually eyeroll. (But not surprised given the stats on who voted for the narcissistic man who currently resides in the White House).
I don’t get why people are still refusing to see Thomas for what he is when I said something similar last week a poster accused me of being outrage at a defenseless confused old man . The excuse and the blaming on Meghan and Harry for Thomas actions are getting ridiculous they want to blame Meghan somehow so they come up with it’s her fault her father keeps selling her out . Thomas is so helpless that he has managed to not only staged photos of himself called tmz to give the exclusive on why he wasn’t going to his daughter wedding and also give a exclusive interview to a British television show but show how Thomas is still considered to some people as a harmless confused old man who just being taken advantage of by his other daughter and the media .
Vanessa, thank you! I’ve said repeatedly that’s this man did not just fall off the turnip truck.
They didn’t go earlier as Doria had work commitments most likely, and TM, by his own admission, turned down an offer to be brought over early to stay with them. So you can’t fault H & M for this one.
As for TM’s financials, having worked in Hollywood in a union, he has a VERY nice pension and medical. He also has a rental property in Los Feliz, which is a *very* nice, upscale area. He may be being very careful with his money, to make it last for the rest of his life, but he is comfortable, again, by his own admission!
They offered him help – from getting him to London and doing everything for him, to offering him a liaison figure who would lead him through everything. All of which HE declined. What else are they supposed to do? Why should they spend mountains (more) of tax payer money or out of their own pockets to get a GROWN MAN to act like a grown up? So weird when people blame Meghan for her father’s behavior.
But if he had behaved himself, I’m sure all credit for Meghan’s upbringing would go to him, right?
My Dad lives in another country, he met my husband the week before we got married. I don’t get why you think it’s anyone’s responsibility to tell grown, hard backed people how to behave or why they should be moved to “a safe house” for a wedding. Grown people should act like grownups and if he was a halfway decent Dad his priority should be protecting his daughter and her husband, not accepting money to trash talk her , her husband and her in laws. Her Mother knows how to comport herself, why shouldn’t the same be experienced him?
Thank you. I don’t agree that Meghan and Harry should have jumped through hoops to meet TM earlier. And I really don’t agree that it’s KP’s fault, that they somehow needed to “handle” this doofus better. They’re all grown people, TM is the one looking bad here.
Well Daddio, your life is now fair game. If Tom Sr wants to talk to the tabloids, competing outlets have the right to go into his past. I would like to know how did he get out of military service during the Vietnam War? He was of draft age. Let’s look at his marriages too. I have a suspicion that Vonnie Sam was a shot gun marriage baby; He and her mom married in 1964 and she was born the same year. How about the Hollywood years? I wouldn’t be surprised there were some MeToo# moments in there. Tom Sr made himself such a big deal someone may be able to get a big payday to inform on him.
Harvey Levin and TMZ most likely have all of Thomas Markle’s secrets under lock and key. Once they get tired of him( and they will) all of Mr Markle’s skeletons( and also those of his eldest children) will come tumbling out of his closet. Maybe then he will realize how he has been treating his daughter, but sadly a man like him will never learn.
He fooled me. Am I the only one?At first I thought that unlike the rest of the family he wasn’t a villain, he was just stupid, wanted to get some attention but meant well. Seriously, I’d probably make him sign some agreement and pay him off. I don’t know.
If they pay him off he’ll just be back for more. Any father that needs to sign that type of agreement isn’t going to honor it anyway. A decent parent wouldn’t have to be bought off.
He’s not a decent parent. The relationship between parents & kids is special, that’s why it’s often said spouses come and go but so many times I’ve read articles about kids trying to murder their parents and then the parents are fighting to free them. Unconditional love.
So it’s impossible to make him sign something like they do on tv or depp/amber other celebrities cases which is why sometimes people don’t leak because they’re scared of financial repercussions?
Seriously, I don’t even get him. He doesn’t need that money and he could be in the favourable spotlight by being a good father/walking her to the altar or something. He could have acted like a proud dad and instead everyone sees he’s a mess. He’s a bad person and stupid one. Like, wtf?
If they pay him off they will have to pay the whole lot of them off and there is no guarantee that they would stick to an NDA. Thomas may have money of his own to keep him in his ‘modest’ lifestyle but the Markle family let it be known that they (and him) expected the RF to set him up financially and he only started selling stories to the press when that didn’t happen.
At some point the tabloids will turn on him and it will be worse than the pap shot debacle – am pretty sure they have evidence that he lied about having heart surgery, it was all way too convenient.
So he needs more but cash doesn’t realise he has nothing on Meghan and can get very little $ compared to what he already has? Instead he acts like a idiot and the media will turn on him, come on, it’s transparent. This guy isn’t even a smart narcissist.
An NDA isn’t likely enforceable anyway. If he violates it, where are they going to sue him, in a Mexican court?
@liriel the idea of a windfall of fortune can make even people who are financially secure act greedy. Especially someone who’s narcissistic, as they only focus on themselves and what THEY can get. It’s having a short-sighted view of things and acting accordingly to that, not having a long-term view of anything.
This talking fart is why I remain sympathetic towards Megan. It’s an issue a lot of people can relate to, the hurt bad parents can cause their children is difficult to get over no matter how old you are or how much money you have. No, good parents don’t behave this way. No, there is no excuse and don’t @ me about his “illness” mental or otherwise. Everyone is still 100% responsible for their actions.
For me the relationship between parents and children is kind of sacred. Every bond can be broken (marriage) but not this one. I feel like she gets over him soon and it’s the PR specialists’ jobs to clean up this mess.
Then you’ve been lucky to only have good parents.
No bond is sacred if that bond is abusive.
Haha, actually my father is not on Meghan-level bad but I cut him off and we don’t even speak so I should have said that this bond should be sacred. You can hurt a lot of people but hurting your child is the worst sin for me. That’s what I meant.
Tired of his face. But, the tabs pay him, and they make money off clicks and coverage, so until that ends, he will keep on and the ratty press will keep on trying to stir shi! Up. The absolute best thing the royal family can do is complete utter silence and zero engagement. He and his family have made it clear that they do not care about Meghan and that they are not worth engaging. She tried, he f&@cked her over, so now cut him and his sorry family loose forever. Except for whomever is keeping their mouth shut, what a horrible family-they have made anyone suspect in the family who might have had a chance with staying in touch. I seriously hope they are not damaging her relationship with Harry.
I doubt that her family actions are impacted her relationship with Harry at all Harry himself said that the royal are the family Meghan never really had so he probably already knew how her dad side of the family were for the start.
I only feel sorry for her mother. They’re seemingly close, this comment could have hurt her. Besides, she must feel somewhat responsible that this guy, Meghan’s father, a guy she chose is embarrassing her daughter. It’s not her fault and without this idiot Meghan wouldn’t be born but I know mum’s logic.
Her mother deserves all the credit for Meghan.
She does! I kind of wonder. Should they bring her out and show to the public more or is it a bad pr move?
My sympathy well dried up for this dude when he starting talking to TMZ. I didn’t judge him too harshly for working with the paparazzi but looking back it makes me so very sad for Meghan. He claims he did it to spruce up his image, but if it’s true that Meghan begged him to come to London weeks before the wedding, what does it say about him that he rejected her offer and instead put his effort into working with paparazzi? He worked with the paps for a month staging those stupid photo ops when he could have been in London with his daughter the whole time.
That’s why I was fooled by him. I thought he was stupid, reckless, a bit fame-hungry. Now there’s no excuse. Hate him.
Meghan is in a really tough position. They man is obviously mentally ill and probably quite lonely. If she reaches out to him, he will just run to the press. If she ignores him though, it won’t stop the behavior. I suspect that when he passes away, Meghan will feel a tremendous amount of guilt for the way things ended. If I were her, I would do my best to get him psychological counseling in exchange for remaining in her life.
Well, the royals have the whole team so she shouldn’t be alone and I hope they’ll work something out. Frankly I believe she doesn’t love him much, he’s more of a burden to her. I speak from experience. But the dilemma you presented is very much real.
Yeah, I should clarify. I don’t think she SHOULD feel guilty, but she appears to be very soft hearted and because of it, will most likely be sad anyway. These stories always make a little sad. It seems as if he has had along history of mental illness. Why would he isolate himself in Mexico that way if he wasn’t at least struggling with something? I would be at a loss for what to do with him if he were my father.
There is zero evidence of Thomas having any sort of mentally illness and I really wish people would stop with this oh Thomas is mentally ill angle that been repeated every time their story about him selling out his daughter. That just a way for people to excused his behavior and actions as if he is not responsible for actions. I don’t understand why people are so sympathetic toward Thomas he has shown who he is over and over again and yet people are still bending over backwards to excused and justify the behavior of a man who is clearly selfish and self centered Thomas loves that he can call up tmz and have the attention all on him Thomas doesn’t care about what affects this has on Meghan life . He just loves being in spotlight
I don’t believe there is evidence either way. None of us know him personally or his history, it’s simply an opinion that some people have, which is ok. We’re not in a position to deal with him, we’re just people on the internet forming an opinion of one man, so I’m not quite sure why people get so worked up over it.
Yeah, we can never know so I won’t judge too harshly but I agree with you. If he had a mental illness he’s not taking the right meds and didn’t do everything to could to get help. My father is a burden for me so that’s why I’m harsh on Meghan’s. Even if Meghan’s has mental issues I feel no sympathy! Be self destructive but not destroy other people’s lives!
IMO the only mental illness Tom Sr. has is narcissistic personality disorder. And at 70-something years old, no one is – or can – make this man get some therapy for it. He’ll have to make the decision to himself (and I won’t hold my breath on him doing so).
Yeah, if he refuses to get help then forget him. At least she can walk away from him knowing she tried.
@ 0ne first of all I’m not getting worked up this line of Thomas being mentally ill keeps being brought up when were their is no evidence of any sort it’s ridiculous since this all just a opinions in my opinion I think that Thomas is very selfish self centered man who loves the spotlight he loves that tmz and British tabloids want to heard from him even if doesn’t really have any thing new to say
Again, there is zero evidence either way. He could very well be mentally ill. That doesn’t mean anyone feels sorry for him. It just means that some people think one approach may work better than another. I’m just not sure why you think anyone needs to stop having an opinion of him as being mentally ill. Is it that bothersome for people to have an opinion that differs from your own? It’s just an opinion and none of the opinions expressed here have any bearing on anything.
I don’t care if people have different opinions my problem is the ways people throw around the word mentally illness to excused or justify Thomas behavior and also I don’t think people who are not licensed doctors or psychologist should be internet Diagnosed a man that they don’t know. It’s doesn’t bother me that people have symptoms for Thomas
Nobody is excusing or justifying his behavior, nobody has said that it’s ok for him to behave the way he does because of this or that reason. It’s simply a theory of why he might be doing what he is doing. Why is that so hard to grasp? He’s isn’t on here reading our opinions and making decisions based on what a bunch of internet strangers are saying, so it is actually perfectly ok for us to have this opinion of him.
I agree @onelumportwo we do not know—either way—whether TM is mentally ill. I happen to think there is likely something clinical going on (anxiety, maybe with a touch of early stage dementia–could also have a personality disorder but technically that’s not a mental illness.) But regardless, ALL of us are stating only our opinions based on what we’ve read about his behavior. It’s fine for those opinions to vary. Makes it more interesting and none of us are writing our opinions in his medical chart! But @Vanessa absence of evidence is NOT the same as evidence of absence. So to say because we don’t have clinical evidence of mental illness supplied by a professional means he’s NOT mentally ill doesn’t fly. Plus, it’s not as though mental illness is exactly rare. Some estimates suggest up to 80% of those in western societies suffer from a diagnosable mental illness at some point during their lives. Why not TM at this point in his life? At least as a hypothesis?
This reminds me of a photo of Meghan as a teenager or pre-teen in a living room with her father and half-siblings. She looked classy, intelligent, and engaged in social issues, wearing a ribbon that I think was pink for breast cancer. The furnishings, her father, and her half-siblings all looked really common. Meghan looked like the odd one out. She seemed to be physically drawing away from the others and the expression on her face seemed to say, “How did I end up with these people in my life?”
Ok so your dad lives in LA and is living like a recluse and you get engaged to the most high profile bloke in the world do you a] fly out to LA with your beau to introduce him to your dad before the wedding knowing the heightened media and his fragility or b) wait till the weddings plans are prepared keeping your pops posted then fly to LA to collect your pops to get him ready and suited and booted royally for the big day fully aware he may need some care or do you c) do none of these things expect him to show up off a sheduelled flight into London but you nip to Chicago before the wedding to sort out your visa
How about d.) your 70-something year old father acts like the adult he is, puts you – his daughter – feelings first, and doesn’t sell you out to the press. Especially after you’ve bent over backwards trying to get him to come to London early, as well as probably meet your intended before the week of the wedding, but he keeps refusing.
Again, people like you trying to pin the blame on Meghan for her father not acting like the adult he is just make me roll my eyes. Meghan popping over to Mexico with or without Harry to see him wasn’t going to make this narcissistic a$$ of a man act any different. He likely would have just refused to go to their face. It’s clear all it WOULD have done was just given him more things to talk about and sell to the press.
This. This guy has shown his true colours and nothing would have changed his mind. Obviously, literally beating him up might work for a little while but that’s it.
Father daughter relationships can be complicated. She loves her dad, despite his failings and faults. Not everyone is blessed with a great stable dad and what she does with this relationship is her own business and I think it is gross to see so many ppl here demand she write him off when you don’t know her or her family.
I take back everything I once said about TM getting manipulated by the media. He owns this, 100%! And if he wasn’t a doting grandfather to Vonnie and Junior’s kids, he won’t be there for Meghan and Harry’s kids.
Only flip side is that because the BRF is treating Meghan with such sympathy, the Windsors are helping their own reputation, especially Charles.
Usually family shows their ass when someone dies or someone gets rich. Her case it’s more famous, probably one of the most famous in the world. I feel so bad for her. Everyone wanting to criticize every move she makes and now her own father wants to sell her out on top of that.
Weddings, funerals and money show who people are. She had two of those (wedding and money/fame), so her relatives have doubled down on showing themselves.
Has to be hard to go through all of this, but in the long run she at least knows for certain what she’s dealing with on the family side. If she’s spent years trying to pacify him/them, distancing herself could be liberating. Keeping someone so unpredictable and toxic in your life is draining.
I feel her dad is way crueller to her than the royal system ever could be.
I’m going to call BS on the health thing. I have a close family member with v-fib…he has a pacemaker/defibrillator in his chest. It is probably the most dangerous heart condition. He was also diagnosed with blockages which were unrelated to the vfib….and had procedures for angioplasty and stents. A week later he flew across country to hike in the Rockies.
If your family member was in shape despite his health problems, sure he can hike, but Thomas is overweight, looks unhealthy.
He knew he had health problems, heart disease don’t happen overnight.
Meghan most likely was disappointed that he did not come, but deep down, I bet she was relieved that he did not come and embarrass her at the wedding.
let him keep embarrassing himself, not that he will see it that way.
I can’t wait for DRump to met the Queen, Thomas will be foaming at the mouth, we’ll see his so-called mental illness, talking for another paycheck.
I feel so bad for Meghan 🙁 Maybe she doesn’t give a fuck, and she’s certainly living a very comfortable life right now, but how embarrassing must it be to have your father selling you out to the press for money? I’m sure if he behaved himself in a respectful manner he would have been taken care of for the rest of his life. She already has to deal with being a biracial American newcomer to the BRF, being torn apart by the press for absolutely nothing, and she has to add this to it? It’s just shitty.
I was initially fooled by Mr Markle, his two scheming kids got their characters from him. But looking back there must have been a problem with this man, otherwise why would Harry and Meghan have announced their engagement before Harry met his father in law? I think Harry only had telephone conversations with him to cover up the fact that Meghan does not trust her father, and Harry knows the full story. But I believe that Meghan spent Thanksgiving 2016 with both Thomas Snr and Doria, as she alluded to that fact on her website, it looked like she knew it would be the last time she could do it. There are still a lot of odd things to emerge, more questions than answers. Also her ‘friend’ who sold her out hinted that Meghan’s father was problematic, and I think it was to do with alcohol.