A former friend of Meghan Markle has offered insight into their relationship before she gave him the “Piers Morgan treatment”. TV presenter and PR expert Nick Ede first met the Duchess of Sussex while she starred on hit US drama Suits, and their friendship bloomed as he helped her explore career opportunities in the UK and she offered a hand in promoting his charity.
Before she met Prince Harry, Meghan and Nick would regularly grab lunch, go out shopping or meet for drinks at Soho House, he told Hello!’s A Right Royal Podcast – but after she met the prince through a mutual friend, she gradually dropped off the radar. “Things cooled off [after Harry and Meghan met],” Nick said, before joking: “I got the Piers Morgan treatment in the end.” Morgan has claimed that his friendship with the duchess quickly fizzled out after she and Harry began their relationship, accusing Meghan of “ghosting him”.
However, Nick only had good things to say about what the duchess was like behind closed doors, heaping praise on her “authentic and endearing” personality, despite the pair no longer being in touch.
He said: “I tell you what is great about Meghan – and didn’t really come across in the TV show – is that she was genuinely interested in people and genuinely wanted to take the time … to learn more about them.
“I felt that was really authentic and I really liked that about her – there was also a vulnerability and insecurity too. She looked fabulous and gorgeous, but there was a shyness too, which was very endearing.”
The two did stay in touch for a while after Meghan and Harry got together, the PR guru revealed, recounting a text message exchange from around the time Prince Harry put out a statement defending his wife against bullying.
After telling her that he was glad she had someone to suppport her, Meghan reportedly replied: “That really means a lot.”
He added: “Our friendship was generally a good friendship. We’d message and text each other a lot.”
The duchess’s new Netflix series With Love, Meghan went live on the platform over a fortnight ago and has made a splash with fans and critics alike – branded alternately “intimate” and “an ego trip”. Whether good or bad, the clamour around the show has been enough to secure it a second outing, and won the praise of Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos.
Mr Sarandos told Variety: “I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture. When we dropped the trailer for the ‘Harry and Meghan’ docu-series [in 2022], everything onscreen was dissected in the press for days.
“People are fascinated with [her]. She and Harry are overly dismissed.”