Samantha Markle Addresses the Suggestion Meghan Markle Didn’t Have a Family: ‘Some People Have Cinderella Complexes’
Meghan Markle and her half-sister, Samantha Markle, have reportedly had a strained relationship over the years. Samantha recently spoke about the suggestion that Meghan didn’t have a real family until she got married. Here’s what she had to say and why she believes it was implied that Meghan didn’t have a family.
Samantha Markle says ‘some people have Cinderella complexes’
During an interview with host and royal commentator Patricia Demetriou (also known as PDina), Samantha gave an update on her life and weighed in on questions about Meghan. Co-host Paula Matanovich says it’s tough to keep up with some of the allegedly conflicting statements Meghan has made.
According to Matanovich, Meghan’s ex-husband, Trevor Engelson, once said Meghan finally got the family she never had after they were married. Matanovich points out that Prince Harry said the same thing when she married him. She asks Samantha why there seemed to be an implication that Meghan didn’t have a family.
Rather than addressing Meghan directly (likely because she is suing Meghan for alleged defamation), Samantha spoke generally, saying “some people” have a fantasy in their minds and a vision of what they think their life should look like.
“Not only do recollections vary, but motives and coping strategies vary,” says Samantha during her interview with Demetriou. “When we look at [Meghan’s ex-husband’s family], when we look at the royals, when we look at our family, there are people who have Cinderella complexes. When we’re kids, we read fairy tales that I think can be damaging when they’re not calibrated by reality.”
Meghan Markle might have had a different view of what a family should be, says Samantha Markle
According to Samantha, Meghan had plenty of family members around before she got married. She says not everyone lived in the same location, but they did have family available. Samantha says it’s possible Meghan had a different idea of what a family should look like and that’s why it was implied she grew up without a real family.
“Some people fixate on those unrealistic ideas of what their life should look like,” says Samantha during her interview with Demetriou. “It’s important to keep your expectations of self and others realistic so that they don’t become demands of self and others, and that applies to family as well. Perhaps she had an idea of what a family should look like, whether it was created in her mind or in storybooks. And to demand that everyone fit a mold.”
Samantha says despite the family living in different places, they are still family. She doesn’t believe location should affect one’s view of who is family and who is not. “As I have said, [Meghan] already has a family consisting of aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters,” adds Samantha. “But we’re spread across the globe as a lot of families are nowadays.”
Samantha says she never had a moment where she said she didn’t know her uncle, for example, because he lived far away. “If I only saw him once in my life and looked at photographs my whole life and I only talked to him on the phone several times a week, that’s my uncle,” she says. “Those are more distant family members by virtue of geography, but they’re family.”
Samantha Markle believes Meghan Markle wanted ‘sympathy, nurturing, and protection’
Samantha believes Meghan might have suggested she now had the family she never had so that she could get “sympathy, protection, and nurturing” from her “new” families (the families of both Trevor Engleson and Prince Harry). Samantha went on to say she believes Meghan tends to “understand where people’s heartstrings are and pull at them.”
Samantha says Meghan could have done something to bring her family together
According to Samantha, Meghan felt her family wasn’t there for her. However, Samantha says the duchess could have done something to help heal any perceived rift.
“When we talk about family unity, whether it was back then or now, she is fully capable, as any member of any family is,” says Samantha. “If you feel like you want a large, more cohesive family, you have an integral responsibility to contribute to that happening.”
Samantha tells Demetriou that each family member has a responsibility to “bridge the gap” and “extend the olive branch.” She says this is better than “whining” about your family not being around. Samantha also says it’s best to seek solutions rather than “behave like a victim” when a situation doesn’t meet your expectations.
Samantha seems disappointed about the current state of her family’s relationship with her sister, saying if Meghan could “jet around to Paris for lunch” and go on shopping trips, she could have made time for her family. “You’re able bodied, you have a lot of money,” she adds.
According to Samantha, Meghan didn’t seem to treat her “new” families well. “To say someone is the family you never had and then leave them feeling like they’re gum on a shoe—they were there for you, they were the family you never had—but how did you treat them and handle that family that you never had?” asks Samantha.
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