
Meghan Markle shared a number of shocking revelations during her intimate conversation with Oprah Winfrey on March 7. No topic was off limits in the interview, which later featured Meghan’s husband, Prince Harry. The Duchess of Sussex even discussed her estranged relationship with members of her family, including her half-sister on her father’s side, Samantha Markle. Learn more about Samantha, Meghan’s relationship with her half-sister, and more.
Who Is Samantha Markle?

Meghan Markle’s Relationship With Samantha
WATCH: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, tells @Oprah she wasn't close with her half-sister Samantha and she "changed her last name back to Markle… only when I started dating Harry. So I think that says enough."#OprahMeghanHarry pic.twitter.com/unfrStscZl
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 8, 2021
Over the course of her relationship and subsequent marriage to Prince Harry, Meghan’s relationship with members of her father, Thomas Markle’s, family became more strained. Leading up to the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan’s half-sister continued to go on morning talk shows and talk about Meghan. The drama in Meghan’s family became even worse when Meghan’s father suffered a heart attack and made the decision not to fly to the United Kingdom for his daughter’s wedding. Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, was in attendance at the royal wedding.
More recently, Meghan went into detail about her relationship with her sister during her March 7 CBS interview with Oprah. “I think it would be very hard to ‘tell-all’ when you don’t know me,” Meghan said, referencing her half-sister’s book. “This is a very different situation than my dad. When you talk about betrayal, betrayal comes from someone you have a relationships with. I don’t feel comfortable talking about people I really don’t know,” Meghan explained.
“I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows. I wished I had siblings. I would’ve loved to have siblings. I’m so excited to be pregnant so that Archie [Meghan and Prince Harry’s one-year-old son] has someone. The last time I saw [Samantha] must’ve been at least 18, 19 years ago. Before that, 10 years before that,” Meghan shared with Oprah.
Meghan even claimed that her sister, who went by the last name Grant for a number of years, only changed her last name when Meghan and Prince Harry started dating. “She changed her last name back to Markle, I think she was in her early 50s at that time, only when I started dating Harry. So, I think that says enough,” Meghan alleged.
The Rift In Meghan Markle’s Family

“For over a year, the UK tabloids were trying to find my dad, offering people so much money to try and find his address,” Meghan alleged. “As soon as they did, there was a huge headline that was like, ‘We Found Him! We Got Him.’” Meghan’s father memorably worked with tabloids to stage photos of himself getting fitted for a tux for her royal wedding and reading books about Britain. Thomas Markle later confirmed that the photos were staged.
As for Meghan’s future, the Duchess of Sussex and her husband are expecting their second child in early summer. Meghan and Harry will welcome a baby girl, they confirmed during the March 7 interview. The two already share Archie, who will turn two years old this May. It’s unclear if Meghan’s family, beyond her mom, has met little Archie.