When it comes to broken relationships, Meghan Markle has a checkered history. Not only has she cut ties with her paternal family and her first husband, she has also distanced herself from the British royal family.
And while at present she seems focused on building a media empire from California, there are those who believe this path could end up taking a heavy toll, especially on Prince Harry.
Meghan Markle’s Broken Ties
Biographer Hugo Vickers doesn’t mince words. For him, Meghan’s story has a consistent logic. “She’s dumped her father, her first husband, Jessica Mulroney, the entire British royal family,” he told The Sun in a recent interview.
From his perspective, the Sussexes live in a constant public reinvention, a dynamic that he says keeps them in a state of permanent crisis. And he is not optimistic about the outcome.
He believes Harry doesn’t stand much chance of emerging unscathed from it all.
Commentator Bronte Coy agrees that the prince is at a crossroads.
According to her, Harry seems to want a quieter life, with surfing and occasional charity work, but she feels that doesn’t fit with Meghan’s ambitions.
“Meghan wants to be a billionaire celebrity,” Coy asserted.
Coy believes that mismatch of goals could be a serious sticking point between them.
Before she was a global figure, Meghan had already gone through a separation. Her first marriage to producer Trevor Engelson ended in divorce just two years after the wedding.
They met in 2004, married in Jamaica in 2011, and by 2013 were signing divorce papers over “irreconcilable differences.”
Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, claimed that the producer “never fully understood” why she ended the marriage, even though she always liked him.
With Thomas, the story is even more delicate. Since he planned a photo shoot on the eve of the royal wedding, the relationship with his daughter broke down. He was unable to walk her down the aisle and has not met her grandchildren either.
Meghan has spoken little on the subject, but when she did so with Oprah, she made it clear that she felt deeply betrayed.
The chapter with the British royal family has been no less dramatic. Since their official departure in 2020, Harry and Meghan have leveled multiple accusations against the monarchy, from racism to lack of emotional support.
The interview with Oprah, the Netflix documentary and Harry’s book Spare have been real bombshells.
In its pages, the duke accuses his brother William of physically assaulting him, among other harsh revelations. Since then, the two brothers have barely seen each other. The last time was at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Meanwhile, Meghan is moving forward with her personal projects. She launched her Netflix series With Love, Meghan, released her second podcast series, Confessions of a Female Founder, and promotes her ShopMy recommendation page. Her American Riviera Orchard brand, now called As Ever is also part of the package.
However, some observers believe that this very active agenda could be a backup strategy in case the California dream doesn’t pan out.
Cameron Walker, a royal journalist, posited that Harry may have a second memoir in mind.
“He says it would shock people,” he warned of the details still guarded in the wake of his recent legal case in the UK.
The suspicion is clear: if things get more complicated, they could resort again to intimate revelations as a bargaining chip.
In the end, experts believe Meghan’s public image – and Harry’s emotional well-being – is at stake.