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Simon Rex Says British Tabloids Offered Him $70,000 to Lie About Dating Former Costar Meghan Markle

Spilling the tea! Actor Simon Rex revealed that British tabloids bribed him to lie about his relationship with his former costar Meghan Markle.

Simon Rex Says British Tabloids Offered Him Seventy Thousand Dollars to Lie About Dating Former Costar Meghan Markle
Simon Rex and Meghan Markle. David Buchan/Shutterstock; Tim Rooke/Shutterstock

Related: Most Shocking Royal Family Feuds in History

The former MTV VJ, 45, explained during a recent episode of the “Hollywood Raw” podcast that U.K. press outlets offered up to $70,000 to exaggerate the details of his friendship with the retired actress, 38, after being labeled as one of her ex-boyfriends.

“Nothing happened. We never even kissed,” Rex said on the podcast. “It was just, like, we hung out once in a very non-datey way. She was just someone I had met on a TV show and we got lunch. That was the extent of it.”

The pair met while working on a short-lived series called Cuts in 2005, which depicted the challenges faced by the employees of a fictional family-run barbershop in Baltimore. Before the Suits alum tied the knot with Prince Harry in May 2018, a number of British tabloids made claims about her dating history, including Rex as one of her many former suitors. The Sun published a report at the time claiming that the Scary Movie star “ruined his chances” with his former costar when she found out about his past as an adult film star.

Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: A Timeline of Their Relationship

“When that story broke, a couple British tabloids offered to pay me a lot of money to say a lie that we actually hooked up,” Rex continued. “I said no to a lot of money because I didn’t feel right lying and f–king up the royal f–king family.”

Before Meghan and Harry, 35, announced that they would be stepping down from the royal family earlier this year, the couple took legal action against a number of British press outlets who placed them both under intense scrutiny. In October 2019, Harry issued a passionate statement defending his wife against the “bullying” she faced after joining the royal family.

“I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in,” he said at the time. “There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behavior, because it destroys people and destroys lives.”

Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Royal Drama: Everything to Know

A source told Us Weekly later that month that the couple weren’t taking issue with “one negative story or incident,” but “an accumulation” of them. In November, court documents revealed that the High Court action was fighting back on rumors about Meghan’s strained relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, her baby shower, developments made to Frogmore Cottage and more.

“Meghan comes across as a strong woman, but she’s been deeply affected by the negative stories about her,” the insider added in October.

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