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Meghan Markle's half-brother said his dad hasn't seen' With Love, Meghan' yet because he didn't have enough heart medication for him to watch it. Picture: Supplied
Meghan Markle’s half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., has emerged from the shadows to deliver his unfiltered take on her latest Netflix culinary venture, With Love, Meghan.
Having not crossed paths with the Duchess in nearly 15 years, Thomas Jr. didn’t mince his words during his interview with Kevin O’Sullivan on TalkTV.
He confessed that tuning into the series made him feel “sorry and embarrassed for her” for the first time.
In the opening scene of Meghan Markle’s show, which features Meghan keeping bees for honey, Thomas Markle Jr. joked that he thought Meghan would stick her face in a box of bees and call it “Botox with Megan”.
The show, which premiered on Tuesday, showcases the Duchess of Sussex, 43, delving into cooking, crafting, and lifestyle segments. She invites audiences into her Montecito home, sharing personal recipes, DIY projects, and engaging conversations with celebrity guests.
O’Sullivan remarked that he didn’t think he was the target market but found the show “absolutely, stunningly boring”.
Markle Jr. responded that the first five minutes are bland and generic, appearing as though much effort was exerted to make them uninteresting. He describes them as “blah” and notes the absence of anything attention-grabbing. “It was just Meghan speaking about nothing in a bland, generic voice.”
He said that much effort went into making the show, but he “felt sorry for all the employees who had to endure it”.
O’Sullivan remarked that he had been a TV critic and watched many bland shows, “but this one really took the cookie”.
Markle Jr. said he felt sorry and embarrassed for Meghan for the first time while watching the show. O’Sullivan then suggested there should be a disclaimer that no cast or crew were hurt or died of boredom in the making of the series.
According to Markle Jr., Meghan portrayed herself as someone who constantly made food while growing up, but that wasn’t the case. He stated that Doria (Meghan’s mother) was a great cook, but “Meghan didn’t cook for anyone while growing up. I found it made sense when she started cooking bath salts on the show”.
Markle Jr said Meghan comes across as a “massive great fraud” and an actress delivering a part because the world knows how she treated her family, especially her father, who “gave her everything in life”.
O’Sullivan said she’s trying to pretend that she’s a wonderful mom and family woman who’s so lovely to all of her friends, but everyone knows she’s not very wonderful to her own family. He believes her motivation for what she’s done to him, Samantha, and their dad is a kind of snobbery, as she wants to be seen as someone who hangs out with royalty and the Hollywood A-list, and she’s ruthlessly cut them out of her life for that.
Markle Jr commented that it doesn’t bother him anymore because she is the one who is estranged from her family, not the other way around.
According to O’Sullivan, in episode five, Meghan states that she was raised in great poverty and never had a yard or a garden. She said she understands that fast food is cheaper, but it costs so much in the long run.
Markle Jr claimed they weren’t poor and didn’t have to “rub two nickels together” at the Sizzler salad bar. He described her portrayal of growing up poor as another one of the “malarkey stories” she sold to the royal family for sympathy.
O’Sullivan mentions a moment in the show where one of her friends expresses disbelief at watching “Meghan Markle” making something, and Meghan corrects her by saying, “It’s so funny you say that because I’m not Meghan Markle anymore, I’m Meghan Sussex. Sussex is my name.”
He said she then gave a “load of old waffle” about how the family identifies themselves. Markle Jr sarcastically suggested that he and his wife Samantha should also change their last names to Sussex to support Meghan, joking about becoming the “Duke in-law of Sussex” and “Duchess in-law of Sussex”.
According to Markle Jr, his dad hasn’t seen With Love, Meghan yet because he didn’t have enough heart medication for him to watch it. He joked that he didn’t want his dad to “kick the bucket”, so he needs to refill the prescription before letting him watch it.
Markle Jr also mentioned that his dad is doing great, vacationing, and is the happiest he’s been in a long time. He said his dad always leaves the door open for forgiveness and loves all his children, still caring about Meghan deep down, despite being hurt by her actions. “He wishes her luck, as any father would, even though she has repeatedly slammed the door in his face.”
When asked if he noticed the “ruthless side” to Meghan’s character growing up, Markle Jr responded that he didn’t really notice it as a child because he was doing his own things. However, he said it can be seen in videos of them growing up, where she kept getting caught on camera when she thought the cameras weren’t looking. He describes it as the “Megan Markle death stare”, where her “viper jaw clinches up and she’s about to strike”.
While the show has garnered mixed reactions from audiences and critics alike, some viewers have found it to be a delightful and calming experience. One Reddit user commented that the show is “sweet and calming,” noting that Meghan “packed a lot of recipes and projects into each episode”.
Similarly, Betches praised the series, stating that it offers “30 minutes of slow-roasting tomatoes on the vine” and provides a “joyful” escape from daily stresses. The review appreciated Meghan’s genuine enthusiasm for homemaking, describing her excitement as “charming”.
Town & Country highlighted Meghan’s warmth, quoting her saying, “The only thing better than eating food is making food for someone and watching them eat it with delight.” The review emphasised her genuine pleasure in cooking and sharing meals with loved ones.
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