Still at odds. After years of public drama, Samantha Markle filed a lawsuit against half-sister Meghan Markle, alleging the Duchess lied during her 2021 tell-all interview with husband Prince Harry.
The sisters’ tumultuous relationship originally made headlines ahead of Meghan and Harry’s wedding in May 2018. Two years later, the couple announced that they were stepping back from their duties as working members of the royal family. In February 2021, they confirmed their decision to not return to their senior roles.
Meghan and Harry, who moved to California following their royal exit, addressed their major life change during a CBS sit-down one month later. During the interview, the California native said, “I grieve a lot. I mean, I’ve lost my father. I lost a baby. I nearly lost my name. I mean, there’s the loss of identity.”
Samantha, who has previously been outspoken about Meghan throughout her royal tenure, claimed in her March 2022 lawsuit that her younger sibling was not being honest when discussing her past or their father, Thomas Markle. In court documents obtained by Us Weekly at the time, the Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister author alleged that Meghan made up stories about growing up in “virtual poverty.”
Meghan, who shares son Archie and daughter Lili with her husband, claimed during her CBS interview that she was never close with Samantha. “I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings. I would have loved to have had siblings,” she said in March 2021, noting that she had not seen her half-sister in “at least 18, 19 years.”
The Suits alum also questioned why Samantha changed her last name, saying, “[She] changed her last name back to Markle in her early 50s … only when I started dating Harry. So, I think that says enough.”
In her March 2022 filing, Samantha accused the Bench writer of lying about her and their father so they “could not interfere with or contradict the false narrative and fairytale life story [she] concocted.”
Thomas, for his part, previously addressed Meghan’s comments about their rift, which grew more strained after he staged paparazzi photos and subsequently missed Meghan’s 2018 nuptials. He told Good Morning Britain in 2021, “She’s pretty much ghosted all of her family, on her mother’s side and my side. So, she really had no one to reach out to. She would’ve had us if she’d kept us. We all make mistakes.”
Scroll on for a breakdown of Samantha’s lawsuit again Meghan:
With reporting by Diana Cooper
Us confirmed in June 2022 that Meghan filed to dismiss the "meritless" lawsuit against her, but Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell denied the request because Samantha filed an Amended Complaint. Meghan then filed a second motion to dismiss. Samantha, for her part, attempted to remove the judge from the case, alleging Honeywell's "impartiality will be questioned." (Honeywell was appointed by former President Barack Obama, who Samantha claimed was "allies" with Meghan and Harry.) MEGA; Kevin Manning/MEGA
Per the March 2022 docs, Samantha's filed her lawsuit in response to Meghan's CBS interview from the year prior. Samantha claimed that the philanthropist's statements about their family had a negative affect on the sales of her autobiography. Samantha also alleged that she suffered from emotional and mental distress and had trouble finding work as a result of the televised tell-all. The elder sibling also called out Meghan's past statements about paying her way through college. According to Samantha, their father provided money for the Archewell cofounder to attend "elite and expensive private schools" growing up and covered her tuition at Northwestern University. Kevin Manning/MEGA
The former actress' attorney Michael Kump addressed the allegations in March 2022, telling TMZ in a statement at the time, “This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior. We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves.” Shutterstock
In the lawsuit, Samantha referred to many of the Tig creator's past statements about their relationship as false. Samantha argued that it wasn't true that they only saw one another “a handful of times.” She also slammed the claim that Meghan asked for their father to intervene amid her public comments. Samantha also alleged that she was invited to Meghan's first wedding to Trevor Engelson in 2011. The former couple called it quits in 2013. YouTube
According to the court docs, Samantha sued for "actual damages in the form of lost employment, lost income from sales of her autobiography, emotional and mental distress, including anxiety and fear due to the threatening and violent emails and messages she receives regularly, and harm to her reputation and credibility." Samantha is seeking damages "in excess of $75,000.00." The summons, which was filed on March 4, 2022, also stated that Meghan had 21 days to answer the complaint. Shutterstock
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