Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • NYFW
    • Life In Plastic
    • Cari Champion
    • New Books
    • Postpartum Psychosis
    1. Celebrity

    Meghan Markle's Sister Samantha Is Suing Her for Allegedly Making Up a "Rags to Royalty" Story for Herself

    Oh, boy.

    Iris Goldsztajn's avatar
    By Iris Goldsztajn
    Published 4 March 2022 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    The Duke And Duchess Of Sussex Visit Fiji - Day 3
    (Image credit: Getty/Chris Jackson)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Meghan Markle's family relationships sound like a reeeal bundle of fun (I hope the sarcasm was apparent).

    In the latest development, the duchess' half-sister Samantha is now suing her for defamation, according to documents obtained by TMZ.

    Samantha, who shares father Thomas with Meghan, is accusing the royal of allegedly lying in her Oprah interview in March 2021.

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    The 57-year-old published a tell-all autobiography in 2021, titled The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister — Part 1. In her lawsuit, she's now claiming that some of the things Meghan said about her have "hurt sales of her autobiography, prevented her from getting jobs and caused emotional and mental distress," per TMZ.

    As for the alleged lies in question, Samantha cited the "rags to royalty" narrative that the duchess has described about growing up in "virtual poverty." She claimed Thomas paid for Meghan to attend "elite and expensive private schools," while the duchess said she worked to pay for her Northwestern education herself.

    You may like
    • Meghan Markle holding Prince Harry's arm wearing LA Dodgers hats Meghan Markle “Is Taking One for the Team” For Prince Harry By Moving to Britain
    • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wearing sunglasses walking outside There's a "Significant" Reason Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Moving to the U.K.
    • Queen Camilla turned to the side wearing a green dress Queen Camilla's Friend Shares Her Philosophy on Prince Harry Relationship

    Samantha also called Meghan's assertion to Oprah Winfrey that she is an "only child" a lie—although I'm fairly certain the duchess meant it as a figure of speech, considering it's common knowledge that she has a half-sister, and considering that she directly referred to Samantha during the interview.

    The duchess also said that it had been "at least 18, 19 years ago and before that, 10 years before that" since she'd seen her sister, which Samantha claims is untrue.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Speaking to Winfrey, Meghan said that Samantha "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."

    Samantha also said in her suit that Meghan allegedly lied so she and Thomas "could not interfere with or contradict the false narrative and fairytale life story concocted by" the duchess. Oh, brother. Or... sister, I guess. (Sorry.)

    "This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior," came the response from the Duchess of Sussex' lawyer, Michael Kump. "We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves."

    FYI, this is not the first time Samantha has tried to come for her younger sister—not by a long shot. Consider that one time she suggested some New Year's resolutions for her, or when she—ahem—timed the release of her book around Meghan's due date. She did apologize to the duchess on live TV once in 2018, though, so there's that?

    Explore More
    meghan markle Oprah Winfrey
    Iris Goldsztajn
    Iris Goldsztajn
    Social Links Navigation
    Morning Editor

    Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

    Read more
    Meghan Markle holding Prince Harry's arm wearing LA Dodgers hats
    Royals Meghan Markle “Is Taking One for the Team” For Prince Harry By Moving to Britain
    By Kristin Contino
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wearing sunglasses walking outside
    Royals There's a "Significant" Reason Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are Moving to the U.K.
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Queen Camilla turned to the side wearing a green dress
    Royals Queen Camilla's Friend Shares Her Philosophy on Prince Harry Relationship
    By Kristin Contino
    Princess Kate Middleton wears a green dress and has long wavy brown hair and Duchess Meghan Markle wears a white shirt and wears her hair in a ponytail
    Royals Negative Royal Stories Reduce All Women to "Witches"
    By Amy Mackelden
     
     
    Latest in Celebrity
    A still of Taylor Frankie Paul and Ben Lambert in 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.'
    TV shows 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Season 6 Is Already Filming. Here's All the Updates So Far
    Queen Elizabeth laying a wreath at the 9/11 memorial
    Royals Queen Elizabeth Broke Tradition With One "Ultimate Sign of Unity" After 9/11
     
     
    Ella Rubin and Amelie Hoeferle, who play sisters in 'Sterling Point,' attended a Chanel New York Fashion Week event together in little black dresses
    Celebrity Style 'Sterling Point' Stars Ella Rubin and Amélie Hoeferle Bring Sister LBDs to NYFW
    Princess Kate wearing a green dress at Royal Marsden hospital
    Royals Princess Kate Trades Fall's Trendy Moss Green for an Old Favorite Emerald Dress
     
     
    Latest in News
    A still of Taylor Frankie Paul and Ben Lambert in 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.'
    TV shows 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Season 6 Is Already Filming. Here's All the Updates So Far
    Queen Elizabeth laying a wreath at the 9/11 memorial
    Royals Queen Elizabeth Broke Tradition With One "Ultimate Sign of Unity" After 9/11
     
     
    Ella Rubin and Amelie Hoeferle, who play sisters in 'Sterling Point,' attended a Chanel New York Fashion Week event together in little black dresses
    Celebrity Style 'Sterling Point' Stars Ella Rubin and Amélie Hoeferle Bring Sister LBDs to NYFW
    Princess Kate wearing a green dress at Royal Marsden hospital
    Royals Princess Kate Trades Fall's Trendy Moss Green for an Old Favorite Emerald Dress
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.