Thomas Markle Sr., Meghan Markle’s estranged father, has publicly criticized his daughter’s Netflix series “With Love, Meghan” and her decision to distance herself from the Markle surname.
In the second episode of the show, Meghan, 43, was seen chatting with actress Mindy Kaling about fast food when Kaling remarked, “People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box.”
Meghan responded, “It’s so funny that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now. You have kids, and you go, ‘No, I share my name with my children’… I didn’t realize how meaningful it would be, but it just means so much to say, ‘This is our family name, our little family name.’”
Thomas Markle’s Reaction
The idea of “Meghan Sussex” has left many fans confused, including her father. Thomas, 80, whose relationship with Meghan has been strained since her 2018 wedding, believes his late mother, Doris Markle, would have been disappointed.
“My mum loved Meghan very much, but she would be so disappointed to hear that Meghan no longer wants to use the name ‘Markle,’” he told Mail Online. “My mother was proud to be a Markle. So am I. Meghan never had a problem with the Markle name until she met Prince Harry.”
Sarcastically, he added, “Now I have to say, ‘I am Meghan Sussex’s dad.’”
Claims of Inauthenticity
Thomas also accused Meghan of “faking” her expressions on camera, claiming she carefully rehearses every move.
“Unfortunately, Meghan has never been authentic. She has to think about everything. She’s not spontaneous,” he said. “Everything she says is pre-planned and rehearsed. It makes me laugh because I know all her looks and expressions. I know when she’s faking it for the cameras. She’s trying so hard to be perfect that she tenses up every time the camera is on her.”
Taking a swipe at her approach to cooking on the show, he added, “You have to be authentic to hold people’s attention. When you’re stuffing the turkey’s a**, it has to look like you’re having fun doing it. The best cooks are funny, they mess up, they’re human. But she just wants to be perfect. It’s sad because she’s trying so hard to stay in the limelight.”*
Disputing Meghan’s Childhood Narrative
Thomas also challenged Meghan’s claim that she was a “latchkey kid” who ate a lot of fast food and microwave TV dinners growing up.
“Like any single father who worked long hours, I’d occasionally put a TV dinner in the microwave. But most of the time, we’d go out,” he said. “After school, I’d pick her up myself and we’d eat out, or I’d send a car to bring her to the set. She grew up on the sets I worked on. She was never a latchkey kid.”
He further described their weekends together, saying, “I’d take her to dance class and then invite her and all her friends out for a meal.”
Criticism of Meghan’s Cooking and Lifestyle
Thomas also took issue with Meghan’s fondness for extravagant meals, particularly her use of edible flowers in her children’s lunches.
“She’s out of touch with normal people. She puts edible flowers on everything. No one has edible flowers handy. Sending kids to school with edible flowers on their food is silly. Kids don’t like them, and if you put edible flowers in a kid’s lunchbox, they’d probably get teased at school.”
He also criticized her unconventional way of cooking spaghetti, where she adds raw pasta directly to a pan with vegetables and water instead of boiling it separately.
“Who makes spaghetti that way? You always boil the water first, then add the spaghetti. It’s the most basic thing,” he said.
Thomas further stated that while Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, is a great cook, Meghan never showed much interest in cooking as a child.
