Meghan Markle’s estranged half brother, Thomas Markle Jr., has criticized her new Netflix docuseries, With Love, Meghan.
In the series, which aired on Tuesday, March 4, Meghan, 43, cooks for celebrity guests and shares tips on baking, crafting, and hosting. The series’ first episode opens with the Duchess of Sussex wearing a beekeeper’s suit and harvesting honey from her personal apiary.
“The first five minutes, it was just so bland and generic,” Thomas Jr. said in an interview with TalkTV on Tuesday.
“It was so, like, blah… Nothing jumped out. It was just Meghan, talking in that bland, generic voice,” he added.
Thomas Jr. said the Duchess of Sussex’s claims that she grew up watching cooking shows and that she always enjoyed cooking “wasn’t the case.”
“I do have to hand it to Doria, Doria’s a great cook,” Thomas said, referencing Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
“I don’t get it, she didn’t cook anything for anyone growing up,” he continued, once again referring to his half sibling.
In an episode featuring actress Mindy Kailing, Meghan said she “was a latchkey kid” who grew up “with a lot of fast food and TV tray meals.”
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However, Thomas claimed her statement isn’t accurate: “We weren’t poor. She didn’t have to rub those two nickels together at Sizzler’s salad bar.”
Thomas also addressed Meghan’s decision to officially drop the last name “Markle” on the show. In the same episode, the former actress corrected Kaling, who used her maiden name instead of Sussex.
“Samantha and I are both gonna change our last names to Sussex,” Thomas joked, referring to his sister, Samantha Markle. He went on to jokingly call himself “the duke-in-law of Sussex.”
Though Meghan is close with her mother, she has been estranged from her father Thomas Markle Sr.’s side of the family since her royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.
In the years since, the Markle family has given multiple interviews where they have publicly criticized the duchess.
In March 2024, a judge dismissed Samantha’s defamation lawsuit against Meghan after she alleged that the duchess mischaracterized their relationship in her 2021 tell-all CBS interview and in her Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
As for Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle Sr., he has sustained a much lower profile after experiencing a stroke in May 2022.
In the TalkTV interview, Thomas Jr. said his father “leaves the door open for forgiveness.”
“He loves all his children, no matter what,” he said.
“Deep down inside, he still cares about Meghan… I’m sure he wishes her luck. That’s what a father does. He’s always left that door open for her, and she’s always just slammed it in his face repeatedly,” Thomas Jr. continued.
Representatives for the Duchess of Sussex declined to comment when contacted by Us Weekly.
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