Meghan Markle will 'keep total distance’ from estranged half-brother - expert
EXCLUSIVE: Meghan Markle's estranged half-brother admitted that he has never been close to her.
Meghan Markle will "keep total distance" from her estranged half-brother, Thomas Markle Jnr, despite his recent public apology. Meghan, 45, who stepped out in Brussels with Prince Harry on Tuesday, has two older half-siblings from her father's first marriage - Thomas Jnr and Samantha Markle.
Meghan is known not to have been close to either of them, with both choosing to stand by their father as the Duchess of Sussex became estranged from them all. Although Samantha has publicly appeared to continue supporting their father, Thomas Jnr made the decision to report him to the FBI after finding boxes of devices containing sex abuse material at his home in the Philippines.
He has since openly spoken out about his disgust at his father, even choosing to apologise publicly to Meghan. He claimed that he had protected "the wrong person for the past nine years", adding, "I'm so, so sorry, Meghan."
Speaking on whether the public apology could prompt Meghan to reconnect with her estranged half-brother, royal commentator Richard Fitzwillams has revealed that the former working royal will continue to keep her distance from him.
He told the Daily Express: "The likelihood is that Meghan, during this extremely difficult period, will keep a total distance from her half-brother whose behaviour has been so erratic in the past. I can’t see them being in touch despite his revelations to the Philippine police."
In his public apology, Thomas Jnr also revealed that he understands why Meghan chose to keep her distance from their father and why she chose never to introduce him to Harry and their children.
The 60-year-old also said: "I know we're not close, but I can still remember holding you when you were a baby and looking after you when you were small. So please accept my apology and know that I wish you and your family all the best for the future."
Meanwhile, Thomas Markle Sr. has denied all the allegations. He has, however, been detained this week after he broke a bail condition.
He was released on bail by a judge on Friday, with a few conditions. One of these was to remain under house arrest and wear a location-monitoring bracelet.
He allegedly cut off his ankle bracelet in the early hours of Wednesday. This resulted in Meghan’s father being rearrested and detained, with the judge giving a very simple three-word explanation. The reason is that he “violated the conditions” of his pretrial release.
