Meghan Markle’s father seemingly implied that his daughter should have stayed with her first husband, Trevor Engelson, in an interview with the Daily Mail. Trevor and Meghan’s marriage lasted less than three months, with the Duchess of Sussex divorcing the film producer before meeting Prince Harry.
Thomas has not yet met Harry. Talking about Meghan’s former husband, he said, "I really liked Trevor. I don't think he ever understood why she dumped him either."
‘My door is always open to her’
Even though Thomas did disapprove of some of his daughter’s actions, he expressed his love for Meghan. "My door is always open to her,” he said.
"I love her and that will never change. I love all my children,” he said.
Meghan and her father’s relationship broke down after he was reportedly caught staging paparazzi photos before Meghan's wedding to the Duke of Sussex. Meghan spoke about her broken bond with her father in her 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, saying, “I grieve a lot. I mean, I've lost my father."
Thomas previously begged Meghan to allow him to see his grandchildren – Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three. He said on U.K. TV last year, "I'm heartbroken. I am very upset. This is a cruel thing to do to a grandparent - to deny the right to see a grandchild. In California, I can actually sue to see them but I don't want to do that. The other thing is I've done nothing wrong. There's nothing that points to say I'm a bad guy. I'm a really loving father and she knows that, and there's no excuse for treating me this way - no excuse to treat grandparents that way."
{{/usCountry}}Thomas previously begged Meghan to allow him to see his grandchildren – Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three. He said on U.K. TV last year, "I'm heartbroken. I am very upset. This is a cruel thing to do to a grandparent - to deny the right to see a grandchild. In California, I can actually sue to see them but I don't want to do that. The other thing is I've done nothing wrong. There's nothing that points to say I'm a bad guy. I'm a really loving father and she knows that, and there's no excuse for treating me this way - no excuse to treat grandparents that way."
{{/usCountry}}Talking about his estrangement from his daughter, he previously said, "The one thing I never imagined was Meghan turning against me at this point in my life. I thought she would always be there for me. Meghan was mad at me because I posed for some paparazzi pictures before the wedding.”
"I was totally alone and being hounded,” he said, adding that he has "apologized repeatedly" for the paparazzi incident.