Meghan Markle: fears Jessica Mulroney 'profiting' from link

Meghan Markle’s friends were ‘concerned for some time’ that Jessica Mulroney was ‘profiting’ from her relationship with the royal, a source has claimed.

The Duchess of Sussex, 38, first met Jessica, 40, while she was filming legal drama Suits in Toronto, and the stylist went on to attend her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018.

Over the last few weeks, Jessica’s ‘white privilege’ scandal has cost her business deals, partnerships, TV shows, and Meghan has even reportedly ended their friendship ‘for good’.

An insider has now revealed how Meghan’s closest pals had long held worries about the stylist, telling Entertainment Tonight: ‘[Meghan’s friends have been] concerned for some time that Jessica has been profiting from her relationship with Meghan and using it to further her brand.’

Meghan Markle’s, 38, friends were ‘concerned for some time’ that Jessica Mulroney, 40, was ‘profiting’ from her relationship with the royal, a source has claimed

The source said that Prince William, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, would ‘never accept’ behaviour like Jessica’s from their own friends and loved-ones.

However they added that Meghan had valued the stylist’s friendship over the years, saying: ‘Jessica has been a source of strength for Meghan in the past during some of her most difficult times.’

Despite their close relationship, insiders claimed earlier this month that the Duchess has permanently cut ties with Jessica after she became embroiled in a race row with an influencer.

DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that Meghan had been left ‘absolutely mortified’ by Jessica’s ‘tone-deaf’ threats to Sasha Exeter, and told close friends that she can ‘no longer be associated with her’.

The source claimed that friends of the Duchess of Sussex were concerned that the stylist was using their relationship to ‘further her brand’

‘Meghan is absolutely mortified that she’s been dragged into this complete mess. She said Jessica is in no way a racist, but the way she handled the situation (with the fashion influencer) was tone-deaf and heartbreaking,’ a close friend of Meghan’s said.

‘Meghan said friends reflect friends and because of what’s at stake she can no longer be associated with Jessica, at least not in public. She has to do what she has to do in order to preserve her dignity and her own reputation,’ they added.

The scandal brings intense embarrassment to Meghan who devoted her brief time as a royal to promoting social good and is a life-long racial equality activist.

The source added that they ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if this marked the ‘beginning of the end of their friendship’.

The stylist has been friends with the Duchess for years, with her daughter Ivy acting as a flower girl at the royal wedding

They also said that Meghan cannot publicly defend Jessica in this case or help salvage her career.

‘It’s not like Meghan can just call up ABC and defend Jessica,’ the source said. ‘There was a reason Meghan waited to so long to make a statement. She wanted to get it right. She said she urged Jessica to do the same thing from the get-go.’

On Wednesday, an insider told Page Six that the duo’s relationship was already on the rocks because Meghan felt that Jessica was trying to ‘make a career out of the friendship.’

‘The white privilege row has really given Meghan the excuse she was waiting for to cut Jess off for good,’ the source said. ‘I don’t know what the tipping point was, but Jess has been on the outs for some time.

Toronto-based Influencer Sasha (left) said she was left ‘paralyzed with fear’ over what Jessica (right) ‘could be saying’ to ruin her reputation after they had a row over racism

After attending Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018, Jessica’s career had gone from strength to strength, with the stylist hosting a wedding reality programme, I Do, Redo, which was released in March

‘Their friendship is definitely not what it was. And really, how can you have such a close friendship when one person is basically making a career out of the friendship?’

This comes after Jessica had her reality TV show canceled and was fired as a bridal marketing specialist after ‘threatening’ a black social media influencer in a row over white privilege.

Jessica admitted last week that ‘I was wrong’ after clashing with lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter amid the George Floyd protests.

Sasha said Jessica ‘took offense to a generic call to action’ that she posted on her Instagram Story weeks ago and that the pair then started arguing.

How Jessica Mulroney’s career has progressed since the royal wedding

Canadian stylist Jessica Mulroney’s career has gone from strength to strength since she attended Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018.

The mother-of-three, whose children were page boys and flower girl at the Duchess of Sussex’s nuptials, has since won an array of high-profile TV contracts.

Jessica, 40, who is married to Canadian television host Ben Mulroney, son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, announced her new wedding reality show with CTV last year.

Her reality show, I Do, Redo, premiered on CTV at the end of March and was also released internationally on Netflix.

The series followed Jessica as she helped couples move on from their disastrous weddings by giving them the nuptials they’ve ‘always dreamed of.’

Jessica has been a regular face presenting a fashion segment for ABC’s Good Morning America since last year.

She also became the spokesperson for The Bay’s bridal brand, which launched in fall 2018.

However, Jessica’s reality TV show has been canceled and she was fired as a bridal marketing specialist last week amid the race row.

ABC has also cut ties with Jessica in her occasional role as a fashion contributor on Good Morning America.

The Bay released a statement last Thursday, confirming that Jessica would no longer be the face of Kleinfeld Canada.

Jessica, who attended Meghan’s baby shower in New York in 2019, was last seen visiting Windsor following the birth of Archie last May.

Though plenty of reports followed claims over her role in Harry and Meghan’s move to Canada earlier this year, the pair have not been spotted together.

Jessica has been careful not to speak out about Meghan too extensively in public, saying last March: ‘Listen, every person has to have a bit of privacy in their life.

‘There are certain things I hold very dear and secret. There are things I’ll never talk about for sure. My life is an open book, but there’s always a few secret pages in the back that nobody will be able to read.’

But in a rare moment she previously appeared to hit out at the media in August, defending Meghan.

Jessica took to Instagram at the time to say the Duchess of Sussex had been unfairly criticized and suggested that race was a factor.

‘When someone faces unfair criticism, you call it out. When that person is your friend and your family, you call those critics what they truly are. Shame on you, you racist bullies,’ Jessica wrote.

She added: ‘Three years of undeserved hate and abuse. It’s enough.’

Jessica had earlier shared a tweet by British actress Jameela Jamil that accused people of bullying Meghan because of her race.

Last month, Jessica revealed she was taking a social media break because ‘someone dear to her’ told her being silent amid racism is not enough.

Sasha who is based in Toronto, posted her emotional video earlier this month, saying Jessica had threatened her during an argument ‘speaking up’ against racism.

She explained that Jessica had taken offense to a call to action she posted online, causing them to argue about the topics of white privilege and racism but she never shared the full exchange.

The influencer said the exchange resulted in Jessica saying: ‘I have also spoken to companies and people about the way you have treated me unfairly.

‘You think your voice matters. Well it only matters if you express it with kindness and without shaming people who are simply trying to learn. Good luck.’

While Jessica shared a public apology online, Sasha said she privately received this message from Mulroney after the public apology

Sasha said the exchanges left her fearing for her livelihood as she wondered what Jessica was saying to her brand partners or potential brands she might want to work with.

Jessica apologized publicly on one of Sasha’s Instagram post after she went public with their dispute, but Sasha claims she then sent her another private message which read: ‘Liable suit. Good luck.’ [sic]

Since then, Jessica, who grew up in a wealthy Jewish family in Canada — has been fired from CTV, which aired the wedding show I Do, Red, and has stepped back from the board of directors of The Shoebox Project.