Meghan Markle’s ‘dear friend’ Sophie Trudeau says they ‘haven’t spent much time together’

The Duchess of Sussex has described Sohpie as a “dear friend”, but the former wife of the Canadian Prime Minister may not think the same. Photo / Instagram

The Duchess of Sussex has described her as a “dear friend” with whom she has shared summer days by the pool, “giddy, like absolute schoolgirls”.

“I just absolutely adore you,” she told Sophie Gregoire Trudeau in 2022, when the then-wife of the Canadian Prime Minister was on her podcast.

Asked about their friendship in an interview on Sunday, however, Gregoire Trudeau said simply: “I know her.”

The interviewer, for the Sunday Times magazine, reports she “does not gush back” and that “they haven’t spent much time together”.

The then-Meghan Markle lived in Toronto, where she met Sophie at the Canadian Fashion Awards. Photo / Getty Images

‘My heart just sunk’

Instead, it is claimed, she reveals “how terrible she feels for Kate Middleton after her cancer diagnosis”, saying: “My heart just sunk when I saw what was happening.”

The Duchess and Gregoire Trudeau are believed to have been introduced through mutual friend Jessica Mulroney, a stylist and the daughter-in-law of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

The then-Meghan Markle lived in Toronto, where she was filming Suits, and they met at the Canadian Fashion Awards.

In her Archetypes podcast, Meghan described a day spent at home with Sophie and her family.

“We swam, we drank wine, we splashed in the water. Then threw some pool floats in.

“This was the other version of us. Both with wild curly hair and swimsuits and loose linen and huge belly laughs. Big cuddles with our little ones and quiet whispers of girl talk on the terrace, giddy, like absolute schoolgirls. We were just having so much fun.”

Meghan called Gregoire Trudeau a “dear friend” who sent her supportive voice notes during her pregnancy.

Sophie and Justin Trudeau last year announced they were separating after 18 years of marriage. Photo / Getty Images

‘Skilfully dodging controversy’

According to Finding Freedom, the unofficial biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand: “The pair became fast email friends, Meghan was interested to hear how Sophie had successfully made the move from an entertainment news correspondent to much-beloved First Lady, all while skilfully dodging controversy.”

They have since both campaigned on the issue of paid parental leave.

In the interview with the Sunday Times, Gregoire Trudeau does praise other women including Michelle Obama, saying: “She’s funny. She has a great sense of humour and also very deep values that I respect.”

In August, she and Justin Trudeau announced they were separating after 18 years of marriage and “many meaningful and difficult conversations”.