Thomas Markle claims daughter Meghan Markle’s grandmother would be ‘turning in her grave’ over her decision after marrying Prince Harry
Meghan’s father refuted the claims she made about her childhood
Meghan Markle’s father, Thomas Markle, has accused his daughter of “faking it for the cameras” and trying too hard to stay in the limelight, following the release of her new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.
In a scathing critique, Thomas claimed that his late mother – Meghan’s grandmother – would be deeply disappointed by Meghan’s recent dismissal of the Markle name in favour of Sussex.
“My mum loved Meghan very much. But she would be so disappointed to hear that Meghan no longer wants to use the name ‘Markle,’” Thomas told MailOnline. “My mother was proud to be a Markle. So am I. Meghan never had a problem with the Markle name until she met Prince Harry.”
He added that Meghan’s grandmother would be “turning in her grave”.
Meghan’s father refuted the claims she made about her childhood (Credit: Netflix)
Thomas Markle disputes Meghan’s ‘latchkey kid’ claims
Thomas also took issue with Meghan’s portrayal of her childhood in With Love, Meghan.
In episode two, the duchess claimed that she was a “latchkey kid” who grew up eating TV dinners.
Speaking to actress Mindy Kaling, Meghan reflected on her upbringing. “[I grew up with] a lot of fast food and also a lot of TV tray dinners,” she said. “It feels like such a different time, but that was so normal with the microwavable kids’ meals.”
Meghan never had a problem with the Markle name until she met Prince Harry.
However, Thomas strongly refuted this. He stated that Meghan lived with him full-time from age 11 until she went to university at 18.
Thomas insisted that he personally picked Meghan up from school every day or arranged a car to fetch her if he was busy.
Thomas Markle has hit out at his estranged daughter Meghan (Credit: SplashNews.com)
“She was never a latchkey kid,” he said.
While he admitted that they occasionally ate TV dinners, he questioned: “Which family doesn’t?”
He also denied that they struggled financially, as the family would eat out at least three times a week. Despite having seen only clips of With Love, Meghan, Thomas was very critical of the show overall.
“Cooking shows are horrendously boring unless the presenter has a passion for it. You have to be authentic to hold people’s attention,” he reflected.
“Unfortunately, Meghan has never been authentic. She has to think about everything. She’s not spontaneous. Everything she says is pre-planned and rehearsed. It makes me laugh because I know all her looks and expressions. I know when she’s faking it for the cameras. She’s trying so hard to be perfect that she tenses up every time the camera is on her. She just wants to be perfect. It’s sad because she’s trying so hard to stay in the limelight.”
With Love, Meghan has been panned by critics (Credit: Netflix)
With Love, Meghan bombarded with negative reviews
Meghan’s Netflix series, With Love, Meghan has faced much criticism.
Some critics described it as “pointless,” “outdated,” and “an exercise in narcissism”.
One particularly scathing review from The Guardian labelled it “gormless lifestyle filler”.
But despite the negative reviews, Netflix officially greenlit a second season of With Love, Meghan, just days after its debut.
Taking to Instagram, Meghan excitedly shared the news, posting a video of herself dancing.
“Lettuce romaine calm… or not(!) because I’m thrilled to share that Season 2 of With Love, Meghan is coming!” She captioned the post.
A TV insider claimed that Netflix was pleased with the controversy surrounding the show.
“This may raise a few eyebrows, but one thing Netflix loves is controversy – and this show certainly created a lot of debate,” they told The Sun.
“Many were so scathing about the eight-part series that they thought there was no way it would get another season. But it seems the streamer is delighted with the chatter it’s created on both sides of the Atlantic.”
Netflix reportedly wants Season 2 to premiere later this year.
