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Meghan Markle’s father isn’t the only member of her family who is talking about her to the press! The Duchess of Sussex’s estranged half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, has been quite the chatty Cathy during his time on Big Brother VIP Australia, and has dragged his sister’s name through the mud several times on the show. One of the many things he has said is that the Duke of Sussex “never smiles” since marrying his half-sister, who he claims “changed after money and fame went to her head.” Brace yourselves, because this is only the beginning!
It’s not just Prince Harry who Thomas talks about on the show – most of which has already been pre-recorded – which he is reportedly being paid A$200,000 to appear on. The 55-year-old can also be heard going into a lot of detail about Meghan’s first husband, 45-year-old producer Trevor Engelson – who she was married to from 2011 to 2013 – saying that she “walked all over him” among other things. “The thing that gets to me, the guy she married the first time, Trevor, have you seen those Saw movies? This guy owns that production company,” Thomas began. “That guy just took care of her. Man, she was adored by him. And she just walked all over him and dumped him, that fast. Harry’s next. Harry is on the chopping block next.”
Back in August, during one of the teasers for the show, Thomas couldn’t help but talk about his half-sister (who may be the only reason he is classed as a VIP and on the celebrity version of the reality TV show) saying: “I’m Meghan Markle’s brother. I’m the biggest brother of them all. I told Prince Harry, ‘I think she’s going to ruin your life.’ She’s very shallow.” And speaking of Prince Harry, Thomas suggested that their father, 77-year-old former lighting director Thomas Markle, “doesn’t approve” of him, despite never even meeting him. “My dad doesn’t approve of him,” he said on the show on Tuesday November 2nd. “My father says he couldn’t even protect those chickens in their backyard if he needed to.”
During another conversation on the show, Thomas mentioned that he didn’t quite believe Meghan’s comments about her mental health which were discussed so openly in the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview back in March, especially the part where she mentioned that she didn’t have access to help when she needed it. He told his housemates: “I don’t 100 per cent believe that. I don’t agree with some of the stuff said on the Oprah interview as far as not having those services available.”
When asked about his relationship with his half-sister, Thomas revealed that he hasn’t actually seen her in a whole decade! "Last time I saw her was at my grandmother’s funeral in 2011, and she took off after that and went to Canada. We were close before," he said. "The big thing is now that no one can figure out what happened to her. Money changed her I guess. Money and fame went to her head really bad. I guess when you are introduced to the 1% of society – that is most likely the reason that happened to her, when you have that much money, you don’t even get in trouble."
He did have SOME good things to say about his half-sister though, saying that growing up with her was a "great experience," saying, "We had a really good childhood together. We were very close, and even though our families were, you know, living in different locations... we still got together for the holidays and lots of quality time." And that's not all, as on the Monday November 8th show, he penned an open letter to the Duchess, apologizing for the harsh things he said about her when she described him as "distant" family before the Royal Wedding in May 2018, which he said "came from a very dark and hurt part" of his heart, while insisting that he is "not a mean person at all."
Back in 2018, he wrote an open letter to Prince Harry, telling him that it was "not too late" to change his mind about marrying his half-sister, calling her a "jaded, shallow, conceited woman that will make a joke of you and the Royal family heritage." He also wrote: "As more time passes to your Royal wedding, it became very clear that this is the biggest mistake in Royal wedding history. Meghan Markle is obviously not the right woman for you. I'm confused why you don't see the real Meghan that the whole world now sees."
Fast forward to 2021, and his attitude seems to have changed a lot! Some of his Big Brother letter read: "Dear Meghan and Harry, the first thing I want to say to both of you is that I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart for the awful mean letter that I wrote to you prior to your wedding. And I want both of you to know it did not come from the real person that I am, but came from a very dark and hurt part of my heart… I am not a mean person at all, and I have more love inside me to give than anything. The letter was definitely written out of me feeling like really hurt and confused when I was informed of your response that I was distant family and that you did not know those people."
He continued: "I would have never tried to communicate any of my feelings in the media. Meg, if I could really turn the clock back, I would truly tell you that I am so, so proud of you and truly I am so happy for you and Harry. And I love you. You are my little sister, my family and you always will be.
"Now you have found the love of your life and started a family of your own, I couldn't be more proud of you. The last several years of my life, I have grown and learned a lot more of myself and I must say that what I did to you with that letter is quite possibly the biggest mistake of my life." We don’t think the Duchess will respond to his open letter any time soon, but stranger things have happened…
