As Thomas Markle starts a new life in the Philippines in a bid to find ‘peace’, the Mirror looks back at Meghan’s revealing blog entry that detailed her feelings about her father before their relationship tragically broke down
The breakdown between Meghan Markle and her father, Thomas Markle Senior, has been well documented, and the distance between them has now reached new heights. Thomas recently moved to the Philippines in search of a fresh start, with the hope of living the rest of his life “in peace.”
Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Junior is living with their father in a $500-a-month high-rise apartment in Cebu, which is over 7,000 miles away from the Sussex family home in California and the pair are said to be “firmly supporting” each other in this new chapter. Thomas Sr was recently pictured outside his new home where he was seen to be “struggling” with the heat.
“There are only two types of weather in Cebu: hot and humid, and hot and humid and raining. It’s brutal even for men half his age, but it’s still sad to see him looking as though he’s struggling,” a source told the Mirror, adding, “Thomas and his son only recently moved into the property and they are still finding their feet in Cebu after the big move abroad, but they’re here together and are firmly supporting each other.”
Meghan’s father – a former Hollywood lighting director – has undergone a series of health problems in recent years, including two heart attacks and a stroke, but he is seemingly no closer to making peace with the Duchess after their relationship swiftly broke down in the lead up to her wedding to Prince Harry back in 2018.
This also means he is reported to have never met his grandchildren, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, three. When Meghan’s engagement to Prince Harry was announced, she was quickly catapulted to new heights of fame, despite already being a well-known actress in her own right.
Ahead of her wedding, Thomas Sr staged a series of paparazzi photos and Meghan later revealed he then lied to her about cooperating and being paid by the photographers, and that she found out he wasn’t coming to her wedding “through a tabloid”.
In Harry and Meghan’s self-titled Netflix documentary series, Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, 68, said she was left “absolutely stunned” at her ex’s actions, adding that “as a parent, that’s not what you do. That’s not parenting.”
Whilst the Duchess hasn’t spoken to her father in a very long time, heartbreaking posts written by Meghan many years before their estrangement on her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig, detailed that they used to share a seriously sweet bond, and that for a long time she held her father in the highest esteem – making the breakdown of their relationship in recent years even more tragic.
In one post written to mark Father’s Day, Meghan absolutely gushed over her “inspiring” father, even sharing some sweet childhood memories of him.
“Our club sandwich and fruit smoothie tradition post my tap and ballet class – classes, which by the way, he religiously took me to on Saturday mornings after working 75+ hours a week as a lighting director,” Meghan wrote, adding that he made sure to use his professional lighting expertise to help elevate her theatrical performances when she was a schoolgirl, making them “as grand as a Broadway show”.
Meghan ended the emotional post by writing: “To my dad – my thoughtful, inspiring, hardworking Daddy – Happy Father’s Day. ‘If I had all the water in the world, I’d give all the water to you…’ (You won’t get that quote, but he will. And for Father’s Day, that’s all that matters).”
In another post, she described how one year for Christmas, Thomas Sr went above and beyond to make sure that the family of dolls he was buying his daughter reflected her biracial family and heritage, and that he “broke the rules” to do so and ensure she was pleased with her gift.
“On Christmas morning, swathed in glitter-flecked wrapping paper, there I found my Heart Family: a black mom doll, a white dad doll, and a child in each color. My dad had taken the sets apart and customized my family,” Meghan explained.
“I picture him standing there in Toys R Us, moms glaring at him for taking the toys apart, perhaps an employee saying ‘excuse me sir, you can’t do that’ — as my dad carefully separated the boxed sets to make one that echoed my reality. One that showed me that I should (and could) make my own box,” she wrote about the meaningful gift.
The dire extent of their relationship breakdown was revealed in the bombshell sit-down with Oprah back in 2021. Meghan opened up about the derailment of their bond, admitting, “I grieve a lot,” as she reflected on the loss of her relationship with her father. Prince Harry has called it “incredibly sad” that the pair are now estranged.
Source: Mirror
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