Jessica Mulroney has revealed she and Meghan Markle are still in ‘constant’ contact, undermining claims the pair have ‘grown apart’ following the stylist’s racism row this summer.
Speaking to Page Six, Jessica, 40, who lives in Toronto, said Meghan, 39, ‘constantly Facetimes and checks up on me’ from her home in Santa Barbara.
It was claimed in August that the Duchess of Sussex had cut ties with the stylist after black influencer Sasha Exeter accused her of ‘threatening her livelihood’ after ‘taking offence’ at a Black Lives Matter video posted by the online star.
Meghan Markle, 38, has ‘grown apart’ from former best friend Jessica Mulroney, 40, from Toronto after she was left ‘suicidal’ over a racism row this summer, sources have revealed (pictured together in 2015)
As her life fell apart, Jessica faced public accusations that she used the Duchess of Sussex as her ‘superpower’.
But Jessica insisted that the opposite was true and she refused to speak about her royal BFF on air, even when she was asked.
‘[Canadian broadcaster] CTV would ask me to go on shows and talk about Meghan; I refused,’ Mulroney told the publication. ‘I don’t call that a superpower. I call it protecting my friend.’
Commenting on their relationship, an unnamed source said: ‘[their] friendship is not what it was once, but it’s not because of [Exeter]. They’ve just grown apart. Of course, Meghan has been worried about Jess. She’ll always have love for her.’
Jessica confirmed the pair are still in regular contact, suggesting they remain close behind the scenes.
Jessica and Meghan have been close friends for years, with the stylist’s daughter a bridesmaid and Brian and his twin John serving as page boys at the Duchess’s wedding to Prince Harry.
It was claimed in August that the Duchess of Sussex was reported to have cut ties with Jessica after black influencer Sasha Exeter (left) accused her of ‘threatening her livelihood’ after ‘taking offence’ at a Black Lives Matter video posted by the online star
Finding Freedom, the explosive biography about the Sussexes written by journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, recently shed light on the history of Jessica’s friendship with the Duchess.
It told how Meghan and Harry spent time with the Mulroneys, part of the Canadian political dynasty, before their relationship was made public in 2016, and ‘hid out’ at the family home when the news first broke.
It was there, the authors claim, that Meghan ‘fell hard’ for her now-husband after getting a ‘first-hand glimpse of how Harry might be as a father’.
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The Duchess was reported to have cut ties with Jessica in the wake of the racism controversy, with a source telling the DailyMail.com she was left ‘mortified’ by the scandal and informed her close friends she felt she could ‘no longer be associated’ with her.
‘Meghan is absolutely mortified that she’s been dragged into this complete mess. She said Jessica is in no way a racist, but the way she handled the situation [with Sasha] was tone-deaf and heartbreaking,’ a close friend of Meghan’s said at the time.
The Duke of Sussex ‘never turned up empty-handed’ when they visited Jessica and Ben Mulroney and their twins Brian and John and daughter Ivy, pictured together, the book claims. Seeing Prince Harry with the children helped Meghan see what he’d be like as a father
‘Meghan said friends reflect friends and because of what’s at stake she can no longer be associated with Jessica, at least not in public.
‘She has to do what she has to do in order to preserve her dignity and her own reputation,’ the source added, admitting that they ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if the controversy was the ‘beginning of the end of their friendship’.
Jessica hit back at rumours at the time, branding a commenter’s suggestion on one of her posts that she had been ‘dumped’ by Meghan ‘fake news’.
Jessica’s friendship with Meghan was not the only aspect of her life that suffered as a result of the recent controversy.
Having quickly shot to fame thanks to her close friendship with the Duchess of Sussex, Jessica’s fall from grace was even swifter.
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that ABC had quickly severed ties with her, confirming that Jessica would not be returning to her occasional role as a fashion contributor on Good Morning America.
Canadian TV network CTV also distanced themselves from the stylist, revealing that it was pulling all episodes of her wedding-focused reality show I Do Redo from its platforms ahead of its expected US premiere on Netflix.
She then stepped down from the board of directors of The Shoebox Project, a charity that she founded with her sisters-in-law, Caroline, Vanessa, and Katy Mulroney.
In a statement shared on Instagram, the charity said: ‘Jessica Mulroney is a founding member of The Shoebox Project and she has dedicated herself to its growth and success over the years, for which we are very grateful.
‘In light of recent events, the charity supports Jessica’s decision to step away from the Board of Directors.’
Jessica’s husband Ben – the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney – then stepped down from his role as the host of CTV’s celebrity news show ‘etalk’, a position that he had held for 18 years.
Source: Daily Mail
