Meghan Markle revealed she cut ties with dad Thomas Markle in 2018 to “protect” her two children after police informed her about “troubling and disturbing” allegations against him.
The Duchess of Sussex told Page Six in a statement on Friday — after news broke of Thomas’ child porn probe — that she was shown a letter initially sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection with claims about her estranged father, the same year as her and Prince Harry’s wedding.
Meghan, 45, said the allegations, which she claimed she was told “were being investigated” at the time, fueled her decision to end her relationship with Thomas, and forbid him from seeing her son Archie, 7, and daughter Lilibet, 5.
Meghan Markle revealed she cut ties with her dad Thomas Markle in 2018 to “protect” her two children after police informed her about “troubling and disturbing” allegations against Thomas. Getty Images
Markle claimed she was shown a letter sent to the police with claims about her estranged father that sparked her decision to end their relationship (Markle and Thomas are seen here). Channel 5
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them,” Markle said in her statement.
“I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
The “Suits” alum said that “although the breadth of what has now been uncovered is more sickening than one could ever imagine,” she hopes “justice will be fully served and that the priority remains the safety and protection of innocent children.”
Meghan (seen above with Prince Harry and their kids) told Page Six in a statement that “any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them.” meghan/Instagram
Meghan (seen here with Archie and Lilibet) noted she was “assured” that the allegations against Thomas “Were being investigated” back in 2018. Meghan Markle / Instagram
Page Six confirmed that the Cebu City Police Office in the Philippines is investigating Thomas, 82, after child sex abuse material was allegedly discovered in his home.
A rep for the police department told us the Women and Children Protection Center is assigned to the case, details of which are currently confidential.
Follow live updates on the Thomas Markle investigation for everything we know
According to The Sun, Thomas’ son, Thomas Jr., discovered “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images in four boxes at his dad’s home in the Philippines, and reported the alleged findings to the police and the FBI.
Thomas reportedly left the alleged content — which allegedly included images of girls around 10-11 years old engaged in sex acts — in storage boxes buried among family “mementos.”
Thomas Jr. told The Sun that “when I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad.”
“I have supported, cared for him and helped him for years — but that stops now,” Thomas Jr. continued, before declaring that he will never speak to his father again, unless he’s “called to give evidence against him.”
On Thursday, The Sun reported that Thomas (seen here) is being investigated over alleged child sex abuse images. BACKGRID
His son Thomas Jr. allegedly found “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sex abuse images in boxes in Thomas’ home in the Philippines (Thomas is pictured here). / SplashNews.com
But Thomas’ daughter, Samantha Markle, spoke out in his defense and claimed her brother “made up” the child porn allegations for money.
“There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever and my brother is disgusting for making them up. He wants to destroy our dad. Shame on him,” she told the Daily Mail Thursday.
Meanwhile, Samantha’s partner, Mark Phillips, exclusively told Page Six Thursday from the couple’s Florida home, “I will say one thing: It’s bulls–t.”
Thomas Jr. (seen here with Thomas and sister Samantha) said that “when I found this material I was horrified and I had no option but to report my dad.” Channel 7
But Samantha (seen here in 2016) spoke out in her dad’s defense and claimed her brother is lying for money. / SplashNews.com
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Meghan stopped speaking to her dad just days before her and Harry’s wedding on May 19, 2018. Thomas didn’t attend the nuptials after being accused of staging paparazzi photos and having to undergo major heart surgery.
One year after the wedding, Thomas revealed the emotional five-page letter Meghan had sent him in August 2018 in which she addressed “the pain” that he was causing that had “broken [her] heart into a million pieces.”
Meghan allegedly said in the letter that she’d “only ever loved, protected, and defended” her father, and begged him to “stop creating so much pain” and to “stop exploiting [her] relationship with [her] husband.”
Meghan has been estranged from her dad ever since he missed her and Harry’s wedding in 2018 (Harry is seen here with the couple’s two children). Instagram/@meghan
Meghan claimed in her 2021 Oprah interview that Thomas (seen here) was working with the tabloids behind her back. BACKGRID
During her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan claimed the final straw in her and Thomas’ relationship was when he lied to her about “working with the tabloids.”
“I said, ‘I just need you to tell me and if you tell me the truth, we can help,’ and he wasn’t able to do that,” she explained. “And that, for me, has really resonated, especially now as a mother.”
Meghan, who was pregnant with Lilibet at the time, told Winfrey she “genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child.”
Meghan (seen here with Harry) said her father “wasn’t able” to confess his actions when she confronted him. WireImage
Thomas (seen here) underwent emergency leg amputation surgery in the Philippines last year. LionsShareNews / BACKGRID
In December, a spokesperson for Meghan confirmed to Page Six that the former actress reached out to her father after he underwent emergency leg amputation surgery.
Thomas, who moved to the Philippines in early 2025, returned to the US in May after recovering from his surgery, with the help of his much-younger nurse-turned-girlfriend, Rio Canedo.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-330-0226.