Thomas Markle is hardly an exemplary father. He caused a media sensation earlier this year by cooperating with a photographer to stage photos of him reading up on royal life before Meghan Markle's wedding to Prince Harry. He then failed to show up on the big day to walk his daughter down the aisle (the official story is that his absence was due to health issues, but no one really buys that). Shortly afterward, Mr. Markle sat down with Good Morning Britain for a 30-minute, tell-all interview, for which he was reportedly given a great deal of money, and royal insiders said that Meghan was "devastated" by it (and by some of the cringeworthy comments he made).
But, on Monday morning, a lot of people couldn't help but feel for the man, who seemed to think he needed to resort to making a public plea on television in order to get in touch with his daughter.
"I'm very disappointed by [the rift]," Markle told Good Morning Britain, "I'm not sure why it's happening. I'm waiting. I'm reaching out. I've been trying to reach out for several weeks. Every day I try to text her, I just haven't received any comment back."
His message to his daughter was simple: "I love you very much. You're my daughter and I'd really like to hear from you. Whatever differences or problems we have, we should be able to work through them. We're family."
Markle defended his daughter when Piers Morgan, who himself has not been immune to controversy, implied that she might be an opportunist who casts people off once they're no longer useful to her.
"That's really not a character trait of hers," Markle said. "She's never been rude to anyone... The unfortunate thing about my daughter and Harry is that they believe everything they read in the papers, and for the first year they were telling me to never believe those things, but now they're believing it and thinking I'm saying a lot of things I'm not saying."
He also said he was sorry about the photo scandal, and that he was told to lay low for a while, but that hasn't repaired his relationship with his daughter.
"I've been quiet for six months, and no one has returned anything back to me," he said.
Morgan claims that Markle received no payment for the interview.
Thomas Markle received no payment for today's interview. https://t.co/ZK5Qok3bGX
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 17, 2018
The response? Viewers appear to be judging Meghan for shutting her father out.
People think it's sad that, especially around the holidays, Meghan's father can't even get a response to a text.
And while the icing out could totally be justified, many find his public appeal kind of tragic.
As always, we'll be watching to see how it plays out. And for more on the royal family, don't miss These Secret Messages Hidden in the Royal Couples' Christmas Cards.
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