Meghan Markle Hasn't Been Able To Escape Relationship Rumors

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Meghan Markle's relationship with Prince Harry catapulted the actress to a stratospheric, rarefied level of fame — one that's been plagued by intense, near-constant scrutiny. That's part of why Markle hasn't been able to escape a stream of relationship rumors about her. Even with limited substance to back up these claims, the speculation about the former "Suits" star has been flying for years. Those rumors are likely fueled by the couple's complicated relationship to the British Royal Family, as well as Markle's estrangement from her own father — one of the weirder things about Markle and Harry's relationship. Such circumstances can make it easy to point to Markle as the common denominator of conflict.

Still, Harry has repeatedly hit back against attacks on Markle, as have her friends and former coworkers who have come to her defense, testifying publicly to Markle's character. "Having spent 3 years working with her in her pre-Duchess days, I saw a warm, kind, caring person," said "Suits" writer Jon Cowan in a post on X. "I know nothing of her current situation, but she gets the benefit of the doubt in my book."

Despite the gossip, which Markle has characterized as racist and misogynistic bullying, she appears to be living her best life, though speculation about her has hardly slowed since they left England. "I'm the happiest I've ever been," revealed Markle during an appearance at the TIME100 Summit in April 2025. Sometimes, when the haters won't let go, you have to tune them out.

Perhaps the most persistent rumor dogging Meghan Markle in recent years is that she and Prince Harry are bound for divorce. Though the couple has repeatedly denied speculation about a split, the narrative persists. Rumors were fueled in June 2025, after the leak of a  "divorce clause" in Markle's $153 million contract with Netflix. This came after gossip about Markle's team trying to sell a memoir about a split from Harry, which was debunked, but has nonetheless continued to fan the flames of divorce rumors.

But Harry and Markle insist their relationship has never been happier. The couple has even learned to find a little humor in the persistence of such gossip — unsurprising since humor appears to be key in keeping Markle and Harry together. "We've apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well," said Harry at a December 2024 appearance. "So it's just like, 'What?'" Critics of Markle and Harry doubled down, floating modified theories that the pair have opted for a private separation while maintaining their marriage brand — proof that people will talk no matter what.

Another rumor that has continued to appear on social media and tabloid pages is that Meghan Markle has a secret daughter, despite no evidence that this story is true. Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, has claimed she abandoned a child conceived during a previous relationship with lawyer Joseph Goldberg-Giuliano. Some Internet sleuths have theorized that the child was raised by Samantha Markle, as Meghan Markle's niece, Noelle Rasmussen. While these rumors refuse to die, there is no reason to consider them credible, and even many of Meghan Markle's critics acknowledge their absurdity. "As much as I can't stand Meghan, I don't believe she has a secret daughter," wrote one Reddit commenter.

For her part, Markle appeared to address the rumors in the second season of her Netflix Lifestyle show, "With Love, Meghan," during an exchange with Chrissy Teigen, where she joked about having a secret third child. "If I could have kept a secret like that, I mean, impressive," she told Teigen. The debate around Teigen's surrogacy is proof that the former model is no stranger to the harshness of online gossip, so it's fitting that the pair managed to have a little giggle about the hurtful rumor.

Given Meghan Markle's meteoric rise to the heights of royal fame, some critics have suggested that her first marriage was more about career advancement than love. Markle was in a relationship with agent and producer Trevor Engelson for roughly a decade. In "Meghan: A Hollywood Princess," biographer Andrew Morton alleges that Markle pressured Engelson to boost her career by casting her. An anonymous source speaking to the Daily Record claimed that Engelson may have felt "used" after the abrupt split, especially since the pair divorced after she found success on the TV show "Suits."

The rumors of Markle's social climbing have been fueled by her estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, who told The Sun that "[Engelson] said he was devastated, that he felt like a piece of gum at the bottom of his shoe." Engelson has floated the possibility of a tell-all memoir about the marriage. Markle has not publicly addressed accusations that she used the Hollywood producer, maintaining that the pair split due to the distance. Perhaps that's a wise approach, since Markle's fans don't seem particularly troubled by accusations that the Duchess is a social climber. "The reality is that the modern educated person often wants to maintain their wealth and social status or advance it. Very few people interested in going backward," observed one Reddit user. "So when people say, 'Meghan was a social climber!' My response is 'So?'"

According to biographer Tom Bower, author of "Revenge: Harry, Meghan, and the war between the Windsors," Meghan Markle was still living with former boyfriend, chef Cory Vitiello, when she began dating Prince Harry — leading to speculation that she was not properly single when she began her new relationship. According to Bower, Harry visited Markle in Canada, but had to stay with a friend, as Markle was still living with Vitiello (via Page Six).

Some social media users have quibbled over the technicalities of Markle's singledom, pointing out that her first date with Harry may have pre-dated her alleged May 2016 breakup with Vitiello. "She may claim they had split but they were certainly still living together," writes one Reddit commenter. Markle has not directly addressed the allegations, though she did allude to her relationship status in a 2022 interview with Elle, saying, "I was really, like, intent on being single and just [having] fun girl-time." As with many other rumors, sometimes silence speaks louder than outright denial.