Meghan Markle contacts estranged father Thomas following emergency leg amputation in Philippines: report
Meghan Markle has reportedly reached out to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, after his leg was amputated below the knee on Dec. 3.
A spokesperson confirmed to People that the Duchess of Sussex contacted her father.
"I can confirm she has reached out to her father," the spokesperson told the outlet. Meghan's representative did not share any further details about her contact with her father.
Thomas Markle Jr. told the Daily Mail that his father's leg was amputated on Dec. 3 in the Philippines, where the pair have been living since the beginning of this year. According to Thomas Jr., a blood clot in his father's thigh cut off circulation to his leg, leading to the surgery.
Thomas Jr. said that the surgery was "life or death" after his father's foot turned "black and blue." He explained that his father is still in the intensive care unit and "the next two or three days are critical" to monitor for infection.
Thomas's leg amputation follows years of health struggles — he reportedly suffered a stroke in 2022.
Fox News Digital has contacted Meghan and Thomas Jr. for comment.
The Daily Mail has previously reported that Thomas was cut off by his daughter on the eve of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. He said he suffered two heart attacks which prevented him from attending the ceremony in the U.K. He believes Meghan has never forgiven him.
"I still don’t know why she dumped me," he told the outlet in March.
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The Daily Mail noted that Thomas relocated to the Philippines earlier this year from his previous home in Rosarito, Mexico.
In Markle's 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan told the media mogul that before the royal wedding, she learned that her father was "working with the tabloids" to stage paparazzi photos.
"I’ve lost my father," Markle said at the time.
"The tabloids had apparently known [his location] for a month or so and decided to hold until the Sunday before our wedding because they wanted to create drama," she claimed.
"We called my dad, and I asked him [about staging the photos]," she said. "He said, ‘No, absolutely not.’… I said, ‘I just need you to tell me and if you tell me the truth, we can help,’ and he wasn’t able to do that. And that, for me, has really resonated, especially now as a mother… I genuinely can’t imagine doing anything to intentionally cause pain to my child. I can’t imagine it. So, it’s hard for me to reconcile that."
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Meghan’s half-sister Samantha took responsibility for arranging her father’s staged paparazzi photos.
Fox News Digital's Stephanie Nolasco contributed to this report.
