George Pimentel / Contributor
Meghan Markle Fears Ex-Best Friend Jessica Mulroney Will ‘Betray’ Her and Share ‘Intimate Secrets’
Her messages were loaded. In early December, Jessica Mulroney — Meghan Markle’s best friend whose 2020 white privilege scandal amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement fueled widespread reports they’d fallen out — reposted a video on her Instagram Story about people who won’t look for the truth.
“Anybody who believes lies about you, before even hearing your side of the story, was already looking for a way to be against you,” the clip said. It came just a few months after the Canadian fashion stylist and wedding expert shared another bold statement in September: “As loving as I am, my detachment game is strong too.”
Many believe Jessica’s messages are aimed at the Duchess of Sussex — and that she has more to tell. “Everyone says Jessica’s cryptic posts were directed at Meghan. They’re not all that subtle,” an insider notes to Life & Style exclusively. The source thinks the social media moves can also be interpreted as “hints there’s more to come.”
Following years of friendship — they met after Meghan moved from Hollywood to Toronto to film Suits, on which she starred from 2011 to 2017 — Jessica “knows more about Meghan than probably anyone,” warns the insider.
“Meghan has secrets she doesn’t want revealed, and if anyone can cause her damage by sharing those, by writing a book, posting on social media, giving a tell-all interview or otherwise, it’s Jessica.”
What She Knows
Jessica has been privy to things no one else has, and at key moments in Meghan’s life. “She knows all of her intimate secrets,” claims the insider, “including the calculating way she really hooked Harry.” While Meghan and Harry initially said they met after being set up on a blind date, he later admitted to asking a mutual pal about the actress after seeing a video of her on Instagram.
For her part, Meghan confessed to doing her “homework” by looking at the prince’s social media prior to their first encounter. “Jessica knows what Meghan’s Hollywood dreams were,” continues the insider. “There were other famous men who were on her ‘future husbands’ list. Let’s just say, Meghan would be devastated if the specifics came out.”
The women were tight for years. In the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, the American royal, 42, shared footage of herself FaceTiming with Jessica, 43, the night Harry, 39, proposed at their Kensington Palace cottage in 2017. “Oh, my God, Jess, it’s happening. He told me not to peek,” Meghan giggled in the video.
The next year, Jessica and husband Ben Mulroney, 47 — whose father is a former Canadian prime minister — attended Meghan and Harry’s royal wedding. Their three kids were even in the bridal party: 13-year-old twins Brian and John were page boys alongside Prince George, 10, while 10-year-old Ivy was a bridesmaid with Princess Charlotte, 8. “Jessica and Meghan,” confirms the insider, “were thick as thieves.”
A Shift Begins
But as Meghan began her tenure with the royal family, reports surfaced claiming Jessica was using her friend’s position as currency. She signed as a style contributor with ABC and scored a gig hosting a wedding-themed reality show.
As sources previously confirmed, Meghan was also forced to reevaluate their friendship in 2020 amid racial-tinged drama. Social media influencer Sasha Exeter, who’s Black, called out Jessica’s alleged “very problematic behavior and antics” within the fashion community and claimed Jessica “took offense” and sent her a “threat in writing” after Sasha issued a call to action following the death of George Floyd.
Jessica publicly apologized, admitting she was “wrong” and needed to “do better,” but Meghan was appalled, says the insider, and began to distance herself.
Jessica has denied reports of a rift. In the wake of the 2020 drama, she even wrote on her Instagram Story, “Meghan and I are family. She is the kindest friend and has checked up on me every day.” Yet the women have not publicly interacted or been seen together since.
“People around them were under the impression that Meghan and Jessica promised they’d never let anything mess with their friendship, but it appears both have reneged on that,” says the insider.
Ongoing fears that Jessica will share what she knows have left people in Meghan’s camp uneasy.
“Meghan thought the ultimate betrayal was how Harry’s family has treated them, but if Jessica turned on her, that would really hurt,” says the insider of the ex-bestie’s recent online digs. “The last thing Meghan and Harry want is another attack on their name, and Jessica could do just that if she expands on her telling posts.”
Reality has set in for Meghan and Harry’s charity. In a tax filing disclosed on December 12, it was revealed that their Archewell Foundation suffered an $11 million decline in contributions in 2022 compared to 2021 — its first year in operation.
While Archewell received $13 million in donations in 2021, it logged just a little more than $2 million in 2022, and nearly 100 percent of those came from just two unnamed donors. But it’s not all bad news: Despite the drop, their philanthropic organization still holds $8.3 million-plus in assets and continues to fund projects helping communities in need.
