Meghan Markle’s Inner Circle: Meet Her Closest Friends

Credit: James Whatling / MEGA

Meghan Markle’s Inner Circle: Meet Her Closest Friends

Meghan Markle had a difficult transition to royal life after her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, contending with negative press from the British media, intense scrutiny from the public and drama with her own family. However, the former Suits star has plenty of friends to lean on when the going gets rough. More than a year after she tied the knot with the prince, the California native admitted that some of her closest pals had warned her about sparking a romance with such a public figure. "It's hard," she told ITV News at Ten anchor Tom Bradby for the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired in October 2019. "I don't think anybody could understand that. ... But when I first met my now-husband, my friends were really happy because I was so happy but my British friends said to me, 'I'm sure he's great, but you shouldn't do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life.'" In the same interview, Meghan admitted that she had "no idea" that things would get so complicated when she first fell in love with Harry. While she didn't think it would be "easy" to date a member of the royal family, the retired actress still hoped that she would receive "fair" treatment from the press. Following a number of ups and downs, Meghan and her husband announced in January 2020 that they would be stepping down from their senior roles in the royal family. Two months later, they made their official exit and moved to California after a brief stay in Vancouver, Canada. [jwplayer pDgQl1vn] Despite taking time away from the royal spotlight, Meghan's personal life hasn't been free from drama. In June 2020, a source told Us Weekly exclusively that she was "done" with former BFF Jessica Mulroney, who had been a close confidant even before her days in the royal family. After Mulroney got caught up in a scandal with influencer Sasha Exeter, Meghan made it clear that she was trying to "distance herself" from her old pal. "Of course Meghan is supportive of Jessica, as she is with all of her friends, but it's a bit off-putting when Jessica seemingly uses their friendship for headlines," the source said at the time. In February 2021, Meghan and Harry announced that they were expecting their second child together just days before Buckingham Palace confirmed that the pair were no longer working members of the royal family. One month later, the Tig founder got caught up in a major controversy as former staffers came forward with allegations of mistreatment at Meghan's hands. While her team denied the reports, a statement from the palace revealed that an investigation into the bullying claims would be taking place. "It's OBSCENE that the Royal Family, who's [sic] newest member is currently GROWING INSIDE OF HER, is promoting and amplifying accusations of 'bullying' against a woman who herself was basically forced to [flee] the UK in order protect her family and her own mental health," Suits alum Patrick J. Adams wrote in a scathing Twitter thread in March 2021, calling out the "seemingly archaic and toxic" environment within the palace. "Find someone else to admonish, berate and torment. My friend Meghan is way out of your league." Scroll down to learn more about Meghan's closest friendships! [podcast_block]

Credit: James Whatling / MEGA

Meghan Markle’s Inner Circle: Meet Her Closest Friends

Meghan Markle had a difficult transition to royal life after her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, contending with negative press from the British media, intense scrutiny from the public and drama with her own family. However, the former Suits star has plenty of friends to lean on when the going gets rough. More than a year after she tied the knot with the prince, the California native admitted that some of her closest pals had warned her about sparking a romance with such a public figure. "It's hard," she told ITV News at Ten anchor Tom Bradby for the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired in October 2019. "I don't think anybody could understand that. ... But when I first met my now-husband, my friends were really happy because I was so happy but my British friends said to me, 'I'm sure he's great, but you shouldn't do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life.'" In the same interview, Meghan admitted that she had "no idea" that things would get so complicated when she first fell in love with Harry. While she didn't think it would be "easy" to date a member of the royal family, the retired actress still hoped that she would receive "fair" treatment from the press. Following a number of ups and downs, Meghan and her husband announced in January 2020 that they would be stepping down from their senior roles in the royal family. Two months later, they made their official exit and moved to California after a brief stay in Vancouver, Canada. [jwplayer pDgQl1vn] Despite taking time away from the royal spotlight, Meghan's personal life hasn't been free from drama. In June 2020, a source told Us Weekly exclusively that she was "done" with former BFF Jessica Mulroney, who had been a close confidant even before her days in the royal family. After Mulroney got caught up in a scandal with influencer Sasha Exeter, Meghan made it clear that she was trying to "distance herself" from her old pal. "Of course Meghan is supportive of Jessica, as she is with all of her friends, but it's a bit off-putting when Jessica seemingly uses their friendship for headlines," the source said at the time. In February 2021, Meghan and Harry announced that they were expecting their second child together just days before Buckingham Palace confirmed that the pair were no longer working members of the royal family. One month later, the Tig founder got caught up in a major controversy as former staffers came forward with allegations of mistreatment at Meghan's hands. While her team denied the reports, a statement from the palace revealed that an investigation into the bullying claims would be taking place. "It's OBSCENE that the Royal Family, who's [sic] newest member is currently GROWING INSIDE OF HER, is promoting and amplifying accusations of 'bullying' against a woman who herself was basically forced to [flee] the UK in order protect her family and her own mental health," Suits alum Patrick J. Adams wrote in a scathing Twitter thread in March 2021, calling out the "seemingly archaic and toxic" environment within the palace. "Find someone else to admonish, berate and torment. My friend Meghan is way out of your league." Scroll down to learn more about Meghan's closest friendships! [podcast_block]

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Daniel Martin

The makeup artist — who got Meghan ready for her 2018 royal wedding — gave the duchess a touch-up during episode 3 of Netflix's Harry & Meghan, which debuted in December 2022.

Days before the series premiered, Martin congratulated the couple on their Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award win. "Couldn’t be more proud of you friends!" he gushed via Instagram.

Credit: Courtesy of Netflix

Susan Williger

"We became fast friends," Meghan's former classmate told the cameras during an episode of Netflix's Harry & Meghan, remembering how she connected with the Bench author as students at Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. "We were both into a lot of the same extracurricular activities and spent a lot of time in leadership roles in school, volunteering."

Credit: Courtesy of Mandana Dayani/Instagram

Mandana Dayani

Dayani, who appeared in Netflix's Harry & Meghan, was the Archewell Foundation president from September 2021 to December 2022, when the nonprofit confirmed that Dayani was stepping down from her role. The royal couple subsequently took "full lead" over the organization.

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Mariah Carey

In August 2022, the singer appeared on Meghan's podcast, "Archetypes,"​​ where they bonded over living in the public eye. "There are some similarities, like being biracial. I tend to dwell on that topic because I just can't get over it," Carey told Variety one month later about her connection with Meghan. "It's always a thing, whether I bring it up or someone else does. I assume that's why it was interesting for she and I to talk for her podcast."

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Chrissy Teigen

The Cravings author revealed Meghan reached out after Teigen opened up about her miscarriage.

“She’s been so kind to me ever since we connected,” the model said during an April 2021 episode of Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen. “She had written me about baby Jack and loss. She is really wonderful and so kind.

Meghan lost a pregnancy in July 2020, which she revealed publicly in November 2020. Teigen suffered her loss in September 2020.

The support has made Teigen defensive of her new friend. “That's why you look at everything, and you're like, 'My God, what is absolutely wrong with people that they have to make this person out to be so malicious or so crazy, when it's just as simple as them being as kind as everybody says they are,'" she added.

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Patrick J. Adams

The Canadian actor defended his "enthusiastic, kind, cooperative, giving, joyful" costar, who shared the screen with him on Suits from 2011 to 2017. "She has always been a powerful woman with a deep sense of morality and a fierce work ethic and has never been afraid to speak up, be heard and defend herself and those she holds dear. Like the rest of the world, I have watched her navigate the last few years in astonishment," Adams tweeted in March 2021 as rumors of Meghan's bullying made headlines. "IMO, this newest chapter and its timing is just another stunning example of the shamelessness of [an] institution that has outlived its relevance, is way overdrawn on credibility and apparently bankrupt of decency."

Five months earlier, Adams told Access Hollywood that he couldn't be happier for his former TV wife as she settled into life in California after her royal exit. "I miss my friend, but I'm very happy she's doing well," he said in October 2020.

Credit: Courtesy of Silver Tree/Instagram

Silver Tree

The Suits producer shared the sweetest details of her friendship with Meghan in March 2021, shortly after claims of her alleged mistreatment emerged. "On her wedding day she checks in on me in the morning. It's her day, the world is standing by, it's a lot-but she wants the day to be special for me. 'You've come such a long way' she says 'Are you jet lagged?' she says 'I made you a playlist to listen to while you get ready," Tree tweeted.

The director gushed over her "dearest" friend, adding: "She's the friend who shares her all of her secrets with you, because despite having so many reasons to put walls up her heart remains as wide open as it always has been. ... She is the friend who insists on always hearing the details of your life, your day, your kids life, your kids day, before hers. Always before hers."

In December 2022, Tree spoke on behalf of her pal in Netflix's Harry & Meghan docuseries. 

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Amal Clooney

The British barrister has reportedly been friends with Meghan since the former actress moved to London. Clooney was joined by her husband, George Clooney, for Meghan and Harry’s star-studded May 2018 nuptials — with the actor even hopping behind the bar and serving his Casamigos tequila at an afterparty. “We live not too far from one another and we have dinners and stuff and we’re friends with them for all the reasons that you’re friends with anybody,” George explained to the Daily Mail in 2019.

Credit: Courtesy Priyanka Chopra/Instagram

Priyanka Chopra

After meeting at a party in 2015, the actresses clicked right away. Chopra recently revealed that she thinks Meghan is the perfect match for Prince Harry “She’s an icon, truly, that girls can look up to, that women can look up to. She’s normal, she’s sweet, she’s nice, she thinks about the world, wants to change it and this was even before any of this happened,” the Quantico star told Harper’s Bazaar Arabia in February.

Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images; Arthur Edwards - Pool/Getty Images (inset)

Justin Trudeau

Because of her love for charity work, Meghan is close with the Canadian Prime Minister and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.

Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Serena Williams

After meeting in 2014, Meghan revealed on her lifestyle website The Tig that the two “hit it off immediately.” Since then, she’s cheered on the pro athlete at the U.S. Open and Australian Open. Williams also wrote many posts on Meghan’s site, and she told Access Hollywood in 2019 that the duchess is “always there” when she needs support.

The tennis champ appeared in episode 3 of Netflix's Harry & Meghan, which premiered in December 2022. 

Credit: Courtesy Lindsay Roth/Instagram

Lindsay Roth

Meghan spends much of her free time with Roth, a TV producer she met at Northwestern University in 1999. Roth wrote a 2015 novel titled What Pretty Girls Are Made Of and created a character based on Meghan. The former actress was also the maid of on honor in Roth’s wedding, and the pair attended Wimbledon together in 2019.

As Meghan faced criticism in March 2021 for her alleged bullying, Roth was quick to come to her defense. "Meg's M.O. has always been kindness; goodwill runs in her bones. I know this to be true after 22 years of very close friendship. I have seen firsthand how she treats her friends and their families, and her colleagues," she wrote via Instagram at the time, praising her "altruistic, magnanimous friend who I am so lucky to have in my corner."

Roth reflected on Meghan's royal journey during the docuseries Harry & Meghan, which began streaming on Netflix in December 2022. 

Credit: Courtesy Janina Gavankar/Instagram

Janina Gavankar

When Meghan was still on Instagram, she posed with the True Blood vet, revealing that they had been friends for 15 years. Gavankar also photographed Meghan, Harry, and their son, Archie, for the family’s 2019 Christmas card.

The actress stuck up for her old pal after a March 2021 report from The Times outlined accusations of mistreatment. "I have known Meghan for 17 years. Here’s what she is: kind, strong, open. Here’s what she’s not: 'a bully.' ANY of us who know her, feel the same thing from her broken silence: Relief," Gavankar tweeted. "The truth shall set you free."

Credit: George Pimentel/WireImage.com

Jessica Mulroney

As Us previously reported, once Meghan chose a wedding gown designer, she and Mulroney went to her first dress fitting together. The stylist, who also works with Sophie Trudeau, has been close with Meghan for years, and the two have gone on multiple vacations together. "Happy wife happy life,” Mulroney captioned a grab of the women together in Italy in 2016. Mulroney also stayed in Canada with Archie while Meghan and Harry announced their “step back” from royal duties in January 2020.

Though the pair had a strong bond for several years, their friendship took a turn in June 2020 after Mulroney made headlines for a social media spat with a Canadian influencer. "Meghan considers the relationship to be done," an insider told Us exclusively. Two months later, Mulroney gushed over a memory from Meghan's 2018 wedding day in a throwback Instagram post — but subsequently deleted the picture.

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Abigail Spencer

Suits brought them together, but this friendship goes beyond just being costars. In the Meghan’s 2017 Vanity Fair shoot, Spencer raved about her friend. “She’s got warm elegance, though her style is hard to pin down,” she told the magazine. “It’s classy and timeless. When you’re talking to her, you feel like you’re the only person on the planet. And it’s just wonderful to see her so in love.” The duo — who share the same birthday: September 4, 1981 — hiked together on Vancouver Island on New Year’s Day 2020.

The actress appeared in Netflix's Harry & Meghan docuseries, recalling how Meghan told her about dating the prince while having tea at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City. "She was like, 'I think I met someone and I'm in love,'" Spencer revealed in episode 1 of the December 2022 show. "I could feel everything vibrating. I was screaming because I could feel it was different."

Credit: Mireya Acierto/FilmMagic

Sarah Rafferty

Meghan previously called her Suits BFF her “sister wife,” and used to post a ton with Rafferty — and Rafferty’s daughter, Oona on Instagram! “The best mama, the bearer of sage advice,” Meghan called her costar. In 2019, Rafferty attended the duchess’ baby shower in New York City.

Credit: Courtesy Heather Dorak/Instagram

Heather Dorak

Dorak and Meghan first met when she started training the then-royal-to-be, and the two soon became close friends. She owns Los Angeles’ Pilates Platinum and worked as a health writer for The Tig. She and Meghan were spotted together at Canada’s Victoria International Airport in January 2020.

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Markus Anderson

The consultant for the Soho House Group has been friends with Meghan for years and is reported as one of the people who matched her with Harry. He was spotted with the actress at the Invictus Games in September 2017. They also vacationed to Madrid together in 2016, and Meghan spent time with him during her trip to New York City for her baby shower in 2019.

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Mischa Nonoo

New York-based designer Nonoo is rumored to be the one who set up Meghan and Harry. She was previously married to Harry’s classmate Etonian Alexander Gilkes. Gilkes attended Prince William and Duchess Kate’s 2011 wedding, and her brother Charlie was linked to Pippa Middleton.

Credit: Courtesy Millie Mackintosh/Instagram

Millie Mackintosh

When she made the move to the U.K., Mackintosh helped Meghan adjust. The royal posted on her Instagram account with the former Made in Chelsea star, sharing a photo of the two riding bikes together during a trip to Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire. Mackintosh is currently engaged to Hugo Taylor, who was once romantically linked to Princess Eugenie.