MEGHAN Markle is cold and calculating and “pulled the rug from under” her ex-husband, says a former friend of more than 30 years.
Ninaki Priddy and Meghan were “like sisters” from the age of two, but fell out when the Suits star, 36, moved to Toronto and split with hubby Trevor Engelson, The Sun reports.
Designer Ninaki, who was maid of honour at their wedding in Jamaica, said: “What came to light after Trevor and I spoke ended my friendship with Meghan. I think everybody who knew them both was in shock”.
“All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated, very calculated, in the way she handled people and relationships,” she told The Sun.
Meghan Markle’s first marriage continues to haunt her new life as a royal-to-be. Picture: AFP
She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends.
“Once she decides you’re not part of her life, she can be very cold. It’s this shutdown mechanism she has.
“There’s nothing to negotiate. She’s made her decision and that’s it.
“The way she handled it, Trevor definitely had the rug pulled out from under him. He was hurt.”
Meghan and Ninaki, both now 36, grew up together in California.
They visited Europe together at 15 and posed for a snap outside Buckingham Palace.
Ninaki, who Meg called Niki, said the future screen star always wanted to be famous, owned a book about Princess Diana and loved the Princess Diaries film.
Meghan Markle’s ex best friend described her as ‘calculated’. Picture: Getty Images
And she recalled Meghan “literally shone with happiness” when she wed Hollywood producer Trevor, 41, in 2011.
Ninaki said: “We’d been like sisters since we were two years old, so I knew she’d always wanted to get married.
“It was such a moving wedding. I started crying the moment I saw her in her dress.
“We had the ceremony on the beach. It was so beautiful to watch, beautiful to be a part of. They each wrote their own vows. They loved each other so much.”
At the time, Meg had recently moved to Toronto to film Suits.
Ninaki said: “Meg had just finished the first series. It was a big part for her — her first full-time role. She’d hustled for years to get there, so that was huge.
Fresh details have been released about the royal wedding. Picture: Getty Images
“Trevor was so supportive. He travelled back and forth from LA and there was a lot of Skyping and FaceTiming going on.
“It was an exciting time. This was the man she wanted to have children with. Meg used to tell me she couldn’t imagine a life without Trevor. She said if anything were to happen to him she wouldn’t be able to go on.
“He cherished her too. You should have seen the way he used to hold her face in his hands. We all felt he was her eternal love. It was such as shock when she told me they were getting divorced.”
Ninaki says she fell out with Meghan, wed just two years, because she disapproved of the manner of the breakup.
Meghan Markle made her first royal ‘work’ appearance with fiance Prince Harry over the weekend.
She said Meghan also developed a sense of “entitlement”. She added: “After the wedding, it was like a light switched off. There’s Meghan Before Fame and Meghan After Fame.
“It’s not up to me to speak for Trevor, but I know he was travelling to Toronto every few weeks and would have walked the Earth to make their marriage work. I don’t believe she gave him enough of an opportunity. I think there was an element of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ for Meghan.”
A few months after their separation Meghan reportedly began dating dashing Toronto-based celebrity chef Cory Vitiello.
She and Ninaki stopped speaking.
Jewellery designer Ninaki toldthe Daily Mail: “The end of our friendship was like a death. I mourned it for quite a while”.
“Even now I’ll pass by a magazine stand and see a face staring out at me that was such a big part of my life. It was always Niki and Meg. We were so close-knit we came as a two.”
Meantime, new details have emerged about Markle and Prince Harry’s royal wedding next year.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte have been confirmed as pageboy and bridesmaid.
The pair, who stole the show at Pippa Middleton’s nuptials, will resume their roles as adorable members of the much-anticipated wedding party.
George, 4, and Charlotte, 2, will follow Meghan, 36, up the aisle when she weds the prince at Windsor Castle, the Sunday Times reports.
A Kensington Palace spokesman told the paper: “The wedding will be a family event. You can expect the family to be involved.”