Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland make headlines from time to time
thanks to drama-filled stories about their daughter. But there's more to this family
story than meets the eye. Keep watching to learn more about Meghan Markle's parents' relationship.
In their early years as a couple, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland may have been happy together,
but being a biracial couple wasn't easy. As Meghan candidly revealed to Elle in 2015,
"They moved into a house in The Valley in LA, to a neighborhood that was leafy and affordable.
What it was not, however, was diverse. There was my mom, caramel in complexion with her
light-skinned baby in tow, being asked where my mother was since they assumed she was the nanny."
But despite the hardships, Doria and Thomas put on a united front for Meghan,
protecting her as much as they could. The future duchess shared,
"They crafted the world around me to make me feel like I wasn't different but special."
When she was seven years old, she wanted a boxed set of Barbie dolls that included an
entire family, but white dolls and black dolls were sold separately. She recalled,
"I don't remember coveting one over the other, I just wanted one. On Christmas morning, swathed in
glitter-flecked wrapping paper, there I found my Heart Family: a black mom doll, a white dad doll,
and a child in each color. My dad had taken the sets apart and customized my family."
"I don't think it's right for kids to grow up thinking these things,
that just mom does everything."
Meghan also recalled not knowing what to do when she was asked to fill out a census
card in the seventh grade and eventually leaving the ethnicity box blank. She added,
"[My dad] said the words that have always stayed with me:
'If that happens again, you draw your own box.'"
Back in 2015, Meghan told Elle how her parents'
love had transcended all sorts of barriers, and she shared,
"Growing up in a homogeneous community in Pennsylvania, the concept of marrying an
African-American woman was not on the cards for my dad. But he saw beyond what was put
in front of him in that small-sized (and, perhaps, small-minded) town."
Unfortunately, their relationship wasn't meant to last,
and the couple eventually split in 1987, when Meghan was six years old.
Looking back at their separation, Thomas gave a snippet of insight into what
caused his and Doria's divorce, when he revealed in Channel 5's "Thomas Markle:
My Story" documentary that it came down to two main factors. He explained,
"It went well for a while but I wasn't home enough. Doria had other interests as well.
What was going on in that household at that time wasn't making me happy. So at
first she wanted to move back into the city and that is what happened. Then we divorced
after that. [...] The whole family split up at that time. Doria moved with Meghan
to a nice little house and I would see her on weekends and whenever I could."
When Thomas spoke about his famous daughter in Channel 5's documentary, he painted their bond
as something truly special that began the moment she was born. Recalling her birth, he gushed,
"I couldn't have been a happier man. She was born as a C-section so I got to hold her first.
I fell in love with her and never stopped. She became the most special thing in my life."
"I fell in love with her and I've been that way for 40 years."
Despite the controversy surrounding their relationship today,
it seems like Meghan and Thomas had a strong bond. After her parents' split, Meghan remained
close to both her mom and dad, even telling Esquire in 2018 that she'd visit her father
at work on the set of "Married with Children" every single day after school for 10 years.
And while the future Duchess of Sussex wasn't allowed to watch the show,
she would give the screen a kiss during the end credits when her father's name would appear.
In the same interview,
Meghan also gave her dad props for helping with her acting career. She explained,
"I will always find my light. No question. And if I don't, I'll know,
because my dad will be the first person to call me and say like,
'You need to have him bring another 2K in,' and 'Why aren't you using this sort of lighting gel?'"
Growing up with divorced parents is never easy, but according to Meghan's half-sister,
Samantha Markle, Meghan supposedly "enjoyed" the divorce because she got
the best out of both homes. Speaking out in Quest Red's 2019 documentary,
"Meghan and Harry: A Royal Baby Story," Samantha noted,
"The divorce was handled by my father and Doria quite well.
I didn't notice that Meghan was adversely affected by that, I think to the contrary.
She enjoyed having two households. [...] She had whatever she wanted materially and a great
circle of friends. I do not think she wanted for anything or noticed the divorce, per se."
Whether that's true or not, Thomas and Doria's 1987 divorce did expose Meghan to a new set of
uncomfortable questions. Writing for Elle in 2015, she recalled a specific encounter with
a closed-minded dorm-mate she met in her first week at university. As the duchess recalled,
the roomie asked if her parents were still together, before adding,
"You said your mom is black and your dad is white,
right? [...] And they're divorced? [...] Well, that makes sense.'"
Meghan went on to admit,
"To this day, I still don't fully understand what she meant by that,
but I understood the implication. And I drew back: I was scared to open this
Pandora's box of discrimination, so I sat stifled, swallowing my voice."
Following their divorce, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland co-parented Meghan Markle for many years.
As Vanity Fair reported, Meghan split her time between both parents before eventually
moving in with her dad full-time during her adolescence. And while at 18 she may have
drifted slightly away from her father, both Thomas and Doria remained in Meghan's life
well into her 30s — plus, they appeared to be amicable with one another. So much so that,
despite any ups and downs they may have experienced behind the scenes, the exes
publicly presented a united front leading up to their daughter's headline-making royal wedding.
In November 2017, when it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan were engaged,
Thomas and Doria even chose to issue a joint statement to express their joy, writing,
"We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person.
To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us
as parents. We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together."
Meghan and Thomas Markle's relationship has devolved into pure headline fodder over the
past several years. The drama appeared to begin in the leadup to the royal wedding,
when it was confirmed that Thomas wouldn't be attending,
despite initially planning to walk his daughter down the aisle. The news came in May 2018,
shortly after the Daily Mail revealed that Thomas had accepted over $135,000
from British paparazzi to stage a number of photos of himself preparing for the big day.
Jump to 2019, and their relationship deteriorated further when Thomas once again cashed in on his
relationship with British tabloids — by allowing them to print a five-page letter
Meghan had written to him to address their "feud." The Daily Mail published the letter,
and eventually lost a privacy case brought forth by Meghan. The letter began with:
"Daddy, It is with a heavy heart that I write this,
not understanding why you have chosen to take this path, turning a blind eye to the
pain you're causing. Your actions have broken my heart into a million pieces."
"I never thought that this would be easy,
but I thought it would be fair, and that's the part that's really hard to reconcile."
Meanwhile, Thomas has claimed he's the victim. He told "Good Morning
Britain" that he's, quote, "been ghosted" by Meghan and pleaded,
"I wish she would reach out, send me a text, anything."
"There's a good chance I might never see my grandchildren."
He also shut down Meghan's allegations that she was forced to pay for college herself,
claiming to the Daily Mail,
"I'm sorry, but that is completely untrue. I
paid every penny of her tuition and I have the bank statements to prove it."
Meghan's relationship with her father may have frayed, but her bond with her mom continues to
strengthen. Doria has been an integral part of Meghan's life with Prince Harry
from the moment she met her future son-in-law in 2016. Despite calling the encounter, quote,
"a little surreal," according to Express, Ragland was supportive of the union and was
right by her daughter's side on her wedding day. Vanity Fair noted that
she also, quote, "got on extremely well" with Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla.
When baby Archie was born in May 2019, Ragland was "a big help with the baby," according to Us
Weekly, and even moved into Meghan and Harry's California home in July 2020 to be more hands-on
with her grandchild. Not surprisingly, when baby Lilibet arrived in June 2021,
Ragland was reportedly right by the couple's side. A source told Us Weekly,
"She's been helping out at the house and her hands-on support is a major bonus.
Meghan's so grateful to have her mom to lean on, and Harry just adores her."
In fact, according to the Daily Mail, Ragland's bond with Harry has apparently
become so strong that he turns to her for advice. According to one insider,
"Meghan has always trusted her completely but she has become a rock to Harry who, of course,
lost his own mother so young. Doria has a great warmth [...] and is very motherly,
but she isn't someone who seeks attention, and for Harry her discretion and silence mean the world."
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