Meghan Markle is leaning on friends and staying off social media personally as she copes with child pornography allegations against her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr.
The Duchess of Sussex, 45, and Prince Harry, 42, have a team that manages their Instagram accounts so the couple can step back from direct platform use for mental health reasons, royal journalist Andrea Caamano said exclusively last month. “Prince Harry told us himself last month that he is not on social media, and neither is Meghan, despite her having two Instagram accounts,” Caamano, co-host of Hello!’s “A Right Royal Podcast,” said.
“They have people who help manage and publish content on their behalf, allowing them to take a step back from social media for the sake of their mental health,” Caamano continued. The detox is not expected to be permanent, however. “I also expect Meghan to resume her social media activity soon and give an insight into what has brought her joy in the past few weeks,” Caamano added.
The couple’s recent departure from the UK with their children, Archie and Lilibet, coincided with the October half-term school break rather than constituting a deliberate escape, according to Caamano’s reporting. “We know the news broke while she was already out of the country with her family for the October half-term holidays,” Caamano shared. “Some schools have a two-week break in the UK, so the timing appears to be coincidental rather than a deliberate decision to escape the headlines.”
The journalist anticipates a routine return. “I would expect the family to return to their home in the UK towards the end of the week, in time for the children to resume school after half-term,” she said. The distance from media attention nonetheless offers some relief during what Caamano described as “an incredibly distressing time.”
“A friend told us this week that Meghan is incredibly upset,” Caamano reported. “Many friends, both in the UK and abroad, have been reaching out to offer their support.”
Despite the personal turmoil, professional momentum continues. “Meghan’s focus remains very much on her family and her professional projects,” Caamano said. “She has been busy expanding As Ever, and we have also heard recently that she has been looking at scripts as she explores a possible return to acting.”
The announcement of her appearance on “Junior MasterChef Australia” came days after the allegations surfaced. “Her new Australian television role is another example of her continuing to develop opportunities outside the royal sphere,” Caamano noted. “And it’s definitely telling that this was announced days after her father’s alleged allegations. It won’t stop her commitments.”
Meghan had already distanced herself from her father years before the current investigation became public. In a statement, she said she had been aware of the “deeply distressing” accusations since 2018 and that her estrangement was deliberate. “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,” she wrote in part. “I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
Thomas Markle Sr., 82, is being investigated in the Philippines after his son Thomas Markle Jr. Allegedly discovered “hundreds, if not thousands” of child sexual abuse images and videos among the elder Markle’s belongings at his home in Cebu City, reports said last week. The patriarch has denied the accusations as “sick lies,” and his daughter Samantha Markle has accused Thomas Jr. Of fabricating the claims for “revenge.”
Caamano does not view the family’s current absence as a prolonged retreat. “I would expect the family to return to their home in the UK towards the end of the week, in time for the children to resume school after half-term,” she repeated. Being away from “intense media scrutiny” remains “a small blessing in disguise.”
Caamano will host a live recording of the “Right Royal Podcast” with Princess Diana’s former personal chef, Darren McGrady, in New York on Nov. 9.