Stop Talking to Meghan Markle’s Dad

Later this week, Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry will celebrate their 2-month wedding anniversary, marking yet another milestone in their relationship. Yes, it’s been almost two whole months since we all woke up at 5 a.m. to catch their royal wedding…and somehow people are still asking Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle to comment on his daughter’s relationship and life.

You may remember Thomas Markle from what didn’t happen at the royal wedding. Instead of being walked down the aisle by her father (following months of speculation that her mother, Doria Ragland, would actually be doing the honors), Meghan instead was escorted through St. George’s chapel by Prince Charles, the father of her now-husband Prince Harry and his brother Prince William. Thomas was reportedly recovering from surgery following a heart attack, but the timing of his backing out from the wedding also happened to coincide with his being called out for staging photos getting ready for the wedding.

This week, Thomas was back in headlines after a new interview with The Sun ran on Sunday. Supposed revelations he provided about his daughter — who he, by his own admission, hasn’t spoken to since just after her wedding — included that he thinks Meghan is "faking" her happiness and uncomfortable in her new role.

“My thing about my daughter right now is that I think she is terrified," he told The Sun. “I see it in her eyes, I see it in her face and I see it in her smile. I’ve seen her smile for years. I know her smile. I don’t like the one I’m seeing now."

He also said that Meghan has stopped answering his calls and that he can’t get a text back from Kensington Palace.

Though some of his criticism of the royal family and the protocol they're required to follow (he called out their "outdated" dress codes, for example) may be valid, the question remains: Why are we asking Thomas Markle about any of this in the first place?

At the time of Meghan and Harry's wedding, Thomas had yet to meet his daughter's husband-to-be, though they had been together for almost two years at that point. Since the wedding, he has, again by his own admission, talked to his daughter once. What reason do we have to believe that Thomas can provide any insight into his daughter's life or, more importantly, that she would want him to?

Right now, Meghan is adjusting to a completely new life as an even more public figure than she was as an actress. Not only is she learning how to navigate the ins and outs of royal protocol and a new marriage, but she's doing it all with the media and millions of people hanging on her every move, outfit, facial expression, and word. It's understandable that her life could be very scary and not totally comfortable right now. But the only person who can fully represent how Meghan feels right now is Meghan herself.

It seems clear that Thomas is having a hard time with the fact that while he hasn't spoken to his daughter and they aren't as close as they might otherwise be, he can see her in the news near daily. And that's a feeling that many people who are estranged from family can relate to. But if Meghan Markle isn't talking to her father about her new life in the royal family, the media shouldn't either.

Related: Meghan Markle’s Wardrobe Already Cost More Than 4 Years at Harvard