Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, reportedly no longer trusts her father. Photo / Getty Images
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, reportedly no longer trusts her father. Photo / Getty Images
Meghan Markle reportedly hasn't spoken to her father, Thomas Markle, in over two months, and it seems as though their fraught relationship may be beyond repair.
The 36-year-old Duchess of Sussex's estranged father has developed a penchant for speaking to the press about his daughter and the royal family, and Us Weekly reports that she's now terrified to talk to him out of fear that he'll leak their conversation to the media, reports Daily Mail.
"Meghan is so upset over Thomas. She's upset for a couple of reasons. She doesn't even know how to communicate with her dad without knowing he won't exploit her," a source told the outlet.
"She lives in fear that he'll leak their communication. If he's spoken this much already, why wouldn't he leak their conversation?"
Meghan was close to her father while growing up in Los Angeles, but their relationship was tested by his series of embarrassing gaffes in the months leading up to her royal wedding.
"She would like to speak to him, but there is no trust there anymore," the source told Us Weekly. "And it doesn't seem like it could ever be rebuilt. The damage is done."
"She has no other choice but to ignore him," the person added.
The Duchess of Sussex's half-sister Samantha Markle has also been eager to take aim at Meghan in the press, most recently tweeting that if their father dies, it will be her fault.
However, the source told Us Weekly that Meghan isn't concerned about Samantha because she has seen or really spoke to her half-sister since she was a kid.
Meghan has been leaning on her mother, Doria Ragland, who met Queen Elizabeth in London the day before attending the royal wedding.
"Her mom has been incredible. She's encouraging Meghan to ignore any negative press and focus on her new life," the insider said.
"Doria is amazing. She's a total bedrock and always takes the high road. She's a very elegant woman and Meghan really turns to her for everything."
Unlike her ex-husband, Doria has managed to avoid speaking to the press about their daughter.
Thomas, 74, first made headlines when he was caught staging paparazzi photos ahead of the royal wedding. Just days before his daughter's nuptials, he claimed he needed heart surgery and missed out on walking her down the aisle.
However, a source told DailyMail.com that he faked the emergency operation as an excuse to not attend the royal wedding and garner sympathy.
Doria is reportedly encouraging Meghan to "ignore any negative press and focus on her new life" with Prince Harry. Photo / Getty Images
The father recently claimed in an interview with the Sun on Sunday that he is worried about his daughter because she "terrified" and "under too much pressure."
"There's a high price to pay to be married to that family," he said, adding that Meghan is "very controlling" and "likes to be in charge" so wouldn't respond well to being kept on a tight leash by the royals.
Thomas said he won't stop speaking to the media until he's allowed to be a part of Meghan's life.
"I was silent for a full year and the press beat me up every day saying I was a hermit hiding in Mexico, so I gave my story," he told TMZ earlier this week.
"Apparently that interview put the royal family in their silence mode . . . so, I gave another interview to break the silence. All they have to do is speak to me."
Thomas celebrated his 74th birthday alone with a McDonald's Happy Meal in Los Angeles on Wednesday, just days after revealing he has lost all contact with his daughter.
He left his home in Rosarito, Mexico, on Tuesday night, the eve of his birthday, and drove six hours in heavy traffic to check into a $130-a-night motel in Los Angeles.
Thomas birthday celebrations came the day after Meghan and Prince Harry carried out their royal duties by visiting The Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition in London.
The couple's outing prompted Meghan's outspoken half-sister Samantha Markle to lash out at her, saying if their father dies, "it's on you Meg."
Samantha launched into her Twitter tirade on Tuesday night, hours after Thomas told TMZ he wouldn't stop talking to the media until his daughter accepted him back into her life.
The 53-year-old took aim at Meghan and Prince Harry's appearance at the Nelson Mandela centenary exhibition in London earlier that day, telling her: "How about you pay tribute to your own father?! Enough is enough."
Samantha Markle (pictured) is reportedly preparing to release a book about "living in the shadow of the Duchess". Photo / Supplied
"Act like a humanitarian, act like a woman," she wrote, adding: "If our father dies, it's on you Meg."
Since joining the British royal family, Meghan has deleted all forms of social media, so it is not believed she has seen Samantha's tweets.
Samantha, a mother-of-three who is writing a book about "living in the shadows of the Duchess," continued: "Glad you have so much time to gallivant around paying tribute to others while ignoring your own father!"
"How cold can you be and look in the mirror? Harry? I guess I was right."
On Thursday, Us Weekly reported that Meghan is taking a solo trip to the U.S. ahead of an official visit with Prince Harry, 33, in 2019.
According to the publication's source, the royal wants to return to her home country before becoming a mother for the first time, and she is looking to visit New York and Los Angeles.
The solo excursion will reportedly come before she and Harry embark on their first royal tour this fall.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are slated to visit Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the Kingdom of Tonga in October.
Meghan recently revealed that she will be joining her new husband at the Invictus Games, which take place in Sydney from October 20 to 27, and the tour coincides with the Paralympic-style competition founded by the prince.
Us Weekly also reported that the newlyweds are planning a trip across the pond in spring of 2019, and Meghan "is looking forward to introducing Harry to everything she loves about the U.S."
