The Duchess of Sussex was previously married to Hollywood producer and agent Trevor Engelson, having met the brash New Yorker in 2004. The couple lived together in LA, then married in 2011, but the marriage didn’t last and they divorced in 2013. Meghan had moved to Toronto, where Suits was filmed, and the couple were drifting apart.
Nevertheless, it was still a huge shock to Trevor when Meghan decided to end it, according to one of Meghan’s oldest friends, Ninaki Priddy.
Andrew Morton wrote in his 2018 book ‘Meghan: A Hollywood Princess’ how Ninaki claimed the incident made the normally laid-back Trevor furious, even five years later.
Ninaki reportedly told writer Rebecca Hardy: “It was such a surprise for Trevor that even at a distance of five years, he can barely contain his anger.
“The normally affable laid-back New Yorker switching gear from his usual ‘hi bro, how’s it going?’ to a cold fury when her name comes into the conversation.”
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Meghan Markle and her ex-husband Trevor Engelson (Image: GETTY)
Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson in 2006 (Image: GETTY)
However, Trevor himself has never spoken to the media about Meghan or about what happened, and has refused to either praise or criticise the Duchess.
While Meghan has moved on and married Prince Harry, Trevor has also moved on and married dietician Tracey Kurland.
That said, Ninaki’s testimony seems to be backed up by Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr.
Meghan is estranged from her father’s side of the family and has not seen Thomas Snr, Thomas Jnr or her half-sister Samantha in years.
Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson in 2011 (Image: GETTY)
Thomas Jnr told Express.co.uk last year how he spoke to Trevor “a couple of times” after the break-up, but that he was told never to mention Meghan to him.
He said: “I could not understand it, I mean this is a man who would have given her everything.
“He had plenty of money, he owns Twisted Pictures, a production company, doing very well now.
“I talked to Trevor a couple of times on a project that I was trying to put together.
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Thomas Markle Jnr speaking to Express.co.uk (Image: Express.co.uk)
“And he said ‘I’ll talk to you, but just don’t ever mention her name because I will hang up on you. I don’t want to hear her name, period.’”
He added that Meghan’s decision was so sudden that she even sent her rings back to Trevor in the post.
Trevor was not the only one who was shocked ‒ according to Mr Morton, everyone in their group of friends was taken aback.
Trevor’s parents David and Leslie were also shocked, as they had, according to one of the Markle clan, “embraced her like a daughter”.
One friend told Mr Morton that it came “totally out of the blue”.
In fact, the break-up was so explosive that after Ninaki spoke to Trevor about what happened, she decided she “didn’t want to associate” with Meghan anymore, according to the author.
She told the Daily Mail that she thought Meghan had been “calculated” and “cold” in how she dealt with the relationships and friendships in her life.
Thomas Jnr told Express.co.uk: “I met Trevor two or three times before my grandmother’s funeral and he was a really cool guy, really nice guy.
“But then, at my grandmother’s funeral, I saw a side of Meghan, sort of scowling at him and him cowering like a puppy dog and doing what he’s told.
“And really just treating him like, you know ‒ and he worshipped the ground she walked on.”
‘Meghan: A Hollywood Princess’ was written by Andrew Morton and published by Michael O’Mara in April 2018. It is available here.
