The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle is once again making the headlines, thanks to her latest Netflix docuseries, With Love, Meghan, which has stirred up fresh controversy — and this time it is because of her own family. Meghan’s estranged half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., is accusing the Duchess of Sussex of embellishing her humble beginnings, calling her version of events nothing more than “malarkey.”
In her latest eight-part series, Meghan reminisces about her childhood, describing herself as a budding young foodie who grew up watching cooking shows and experimenting in the kitchen. But Thomas Jr. says that story couldn’t be further from reality. Speaking to the UK’s TalkTV, the 58-year-old dismissed Meghan’s claims as pure fiction.
‘We weren’t poor’ – Truth or pure fiction?
According to Thomas, Meghan’s upbringing was far more privileged than she lets on. While Meghan fondly recalls scraping together spare change to eat at Sizzler’s salad bar, her brother says the truth is she dined at upscale restaurants like Musso & Frank Grill and Hamburger Hamlet in Hollywood.
“We weren’t poor,” Thomas insisted. “She never had to scrape for anything — and she certainly wasn’t cooking meals for anyone.”
The public family feud between Meghan and the Markles shows no sign of cooling down. Both Thomas Jr. and Meghan’s half-sister Samantha have repeatedly accused her of rewriting family history to fit her narrative.
Additionally, Thomas even joked about changing his last name to Sussex — a jab at Meghan’s preference for her royal surname over her maiden name. While Meghan claims in the series that “Sussex” represents unity for her family, Thomas argues it’s just another piece of carefully crafted PR.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry made a brief appearance in the series, praising Meghan’s personal journey — though he steered clear of addressing the ongoing family drama. The couple’s children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, were mentioned throughout the show, but did not appear on camera.