Piers Morgan has long claimed he was once close friends with Meghan Markle, alleging that the pair spent ‘two hours in the pub’ together before the Duchess brutally ‘ghosted’ him
Broadcaster Piers Morgan can rarely go a week without mentioning Meghan Markle‘s name but how well did the former Good Morning Britain anchor actually know the Duchess of Sussex? Piers has long claimed Prince Harry’s wife brutally ghosted him but were the two ever friends?
While Piers may have once been keen to imply he had been close pals with Meghan – boasting in 2018 about his connections to the mum-of-two before starting a feud with her – the veteran journalist only ever met Meghan in person once before becoming one of loudest critics.
Meghan and Piers first crossed paths virtually in 2016 when the Suits actress messaged the TV presenter on Twitter and apparently let him know she was a fan. It’s hard to imagine now but the pair eventually met in real life for a drink in a London pub when Meghan visited the UK to watch her friend Serena Williams at Wimbledon.
‘We had two hours in the pub, she had a couple of dirty martinis and pints – we got on brilliantly,» Piers said of his ‘first date’ with Meghan during an appearance on the Late Late Show. «Then I put her in a cab, and it turns out it was the cab that took her to a party where she met Prince Harry. The next night they had a solo dinner and that was the last I ever heard from Meghan Markle. I never heard from her again – Meghan Markle ghosted me.»
At the time, Piers expressed a fondness for Meghan despite her seemingly not wanting to pursue a friendship with him. In 2018, the day before Meghan and Harry’s wedding, Piers shared a snap of the pub he enjoyed his one and only meeting with Meghan on his Instagram page.
Captioning an exterior shot of The Scarsdale Tavern, Kensington, the broadcaster bragged to his followers: «Two years ago, I took Meghan Markle to my local pub for a drink (she had dirty martinis, I had Harvey’s best bitter) & then put her in a cab to her first date with Harry. That night, none of the locals knew who the hell she was. It appears they know now…»
But he quickly changed his tune and went from trying to claim Meghan was ‘a friend’ and branded her a «grasping, selfish, scheming Kardashian wannabe’ and ‘narcissistic whiny brat». His relentless in his public criticism of Meghan eventually led to him leaving his role on Good Morning Britain.
The dramatic exit unfolded during a 2021 episode when he accused Meghan of dishonesty about her mental health following the Duchess’s bombshell revelations to Oprah Winfrey about experiencing suicidal thoughts. Alex Beresford stood up for the Duchess on ITV, pointing out to the outspoken TalkTV personality that the former actress had «cut him off» after a «short-lived friendship».
He confronted Piers by saying, «I understand that you don’t like Meghan Markle. You’ve made it so clear a number of times on this programme.» Alex persisted, stating, «I understand you’ve got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle or had one and she cut you off… she’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don’t think she has, but yet you continue to trash her.»
Piers walked off the set in a strop, later accusing Alex of making a «launching a personal derogatory attack» upon his return – only to exit again permanently shortly thereafter. Two years on from dramatically exiting the ITV show, Piers seemed unable to move on from the one sided feud.
Discussing his clash with Alex in 2023, Piers stated: «I don’t mind a guest doing that but I do object to someone who had asked to come on the show, who was on the team, who then makes a very personal attack on me.»
Talking to Amol Rajan in a BBC interview, Piers added: «And so at that moment, I thought there are two things that are going to happen here. Either I’m going to lose my rag and do something I regret – or I’m going to go and walk off. I don’t like to think about what I would have done.
«I was certainly looking at him thinking ‘Yeah I better leave the room.'» He went on to say: «Just for the record, I think he was a treacherous little p***k. So he can say what he likes about me. He absolutely has a right to his opinion. That is my opinion about him.»
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