Meghan Markle Opens Up About Her Dad and Half-Sister in New Oprah Interview Clips

March 08, 2021 | 11:25am

Markle says she felt "betrayed" by her dad, but that wasn't the word she'd use for her estranged half-sister.

Meghan Markle Opens Up About Her Dad and Half-Sister in New Oprah Interview Clips

There’s been a lot of talk about the British media’s unfair treatment of Meghan Markle, and rightfully so. She’s faced scrutiny that”s often sexist and racist. But she’s also encountered trouble from her estranged family, specifically, her father and her half-sister, Samantha, both of whom have tried to profit from their connection to her.

Now, in previously unseen clips from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex is revealing what happened, and where things stand, with her dad and her half-sister.

“There was such an obsession about anything in my world, including tracking down my parents, and I did everything I could to protect both of them,” Markle tells Winfrey in the clip.

Markle says the British tabloids offered people large sums to find her dad’s address. Once he was located, they “descended” on his small town and showered him with gifts to gain his favor. Markle says when she asked her dad if he’d been talking to the tabloids, he said no—which wasn’t true.

https://twitter.com/CBSThisMorning/status/1368920074917191690

In the second clip, Winfrey asks Markle about her relationship with her half-sister, who’s written a “tell-all” book about her. Markle makes it clear the two aren’t close and hints that the book can’t be accurate because Samantha doesn’t “know” her. “This is a very different situation than my dad, right? When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone that you have a relationship with. I don’t feel comfortable talking about people that I really don’t know,” Markle said.

She continued, “I grew up as an only child…. The last time I saw her must have been at least 18, 19 years ago. And before that, 10 years before that.” The Duchess of Sussex says that Samantha “changed her last name back to Markle…only when I started dating Harry. So I think that says enough.”