Meghan’s father: I’m leaving America for a new life abroad, and here’s why… In this exclusive interview, Thomas Markle explains his reasons for moving to the other side of the world and tells his grandchildren Reveal what it means for your desire to meet

Meghan Markle’s estranged father Tom is planning a “fresh start” overseas in 2025, hoping to spend his final years in “peace”.

In a particularly heart-wrenching announcement this week, Mr. Markle will be back on the clifftops of Mexico that he has called home for a decade, as his daughter launches a glamorous new lifestyle show for Netflix, “With Love, Meghan Markle.” He told the Mail on Sunday that he had decided to leave his home. year.

Mr Markle, 80, has suffered two heart attacks and a stroke in recent years and said his decision to seek a new life overseas was because he was looking for “peace” and “kind people”.

This week, I packed up a lifetime of memories with Mr. Markle. We drank PG Tips and ate endless mince pies while he sorted his belongings into packing boxes and burned what he didn’t want to keep.

Here is Meghan’s school report, which describes her as a child who “displayed persistent effort and actively participated in classroom discussions” when she was nine years old. It is a valuable document that I received for the first time in 2007 and have cherished it for many years.

And there were countless photos of Meghan feeding ducks with her father, playing a crazy game of golf, and laughing as they went fishing at a nearby lake.

These photos may have come from a happy family album, but Markle is carefully discreet about the only memory she now has of her youngest child, the “baby” she affectionately called “Megsy.” I thought it was especially sad when I saw it being packaged. I fell asleep in his arms, listening to the rumbling of the refrigerator.

Each photo was carefully placed in a plastic bag for protection, then placed in a box for the long journey life would take him on.

When I told him it was “courageous” to start anew at 80, he shrugged, smiled, and said, “I’m brave.” “I don’t know if courage is the right word.”

“I’m ready for a change. I’ve felt stuck in a rut for a while, but I’m ready to meet new people and experience kindness.”

On one table was a video of Meghan Markle’s first wedding to Hollywood producer Trevor Engelson. Meghan married on a Jamaican beach in 2011 but divorced in 2014 – two years before she met Prince Harry on a blind date.

“I really liked Trevor,” Markle said softly. “I don’t think he understood why she left him either.”

It was especially emotional to be with him at this time of year, especially at Christmas.

There is no suggestion that he is “on the run” because of Meghan and Harry, but he said he wants to find a more quiet place to live and is considering options in Southeast Asia.

“I traveled to that part of the world when I was younger and the people are very kind and welcoming and respectful towards their elders,” he said. This is a place of culture and beauty. ”

Incredibly, he has yet to meet his son-in-law Prince Harry, grandson Archie, 5, or three-year-old Lilibet, named after the late Queen.

He has now come to accept that it probably never will be, but the door will always remain open for him.

An Emmy Award-winning Hollywood lighting director has not renewed his lease on a rental home in Mexico. Instead, she plans to travel with her son Tom Jr., 58, who is Meghan’s half-brother, and explore their options.

“I don’t know where I’ll end up in the end, but it’s time to move on and find a place where I can live among kind people and enjoy the time I have left,” he said.

Markle declined to discuss politics, but said she was unlikely to return to her native United States. Markle was born in Pennsylvania but spent most of her life working at ABC Studios in Hollywood on shows such as “General Hospital” and “Marriage with Children.”

“I distance myself from disappointing American politics,” he said.

“When you’re 80, it’s time to go somewhere where people are nicer and enjoy a quieter, friendlier life.

“In Southeast Asia, medical care is excellent, living is reasonably cheap, people are kind and respectful of their elders, and the food is healthy.”

“Mostly, I want peace. When you’re 80, you never know how much time you have left.

“I want to always be at peace without getting caught up in the terrible drama of recent years.”

Despite living in the seaside community of Rosarito, Mexico, a 250-mile drive from the Sussexes’ £11 million, 16-bathroom mansion in Montecito, California, From the age of 11, when I had never been invited to a house.

A trailer for Meghan Markle’s Netflix show this week showed off plenty of beehives, an orchard, and stunning ocean views at her home, while her father is firmly out in the cold.

Neither Duchess Meghan nor Prince Harry have ever visited Rosarito to meet Tom. During the phone call, Prince Harry asked Tom for permission to marry Meghan Markle. Although Tom divorced Meghan’s mother, Doria, who was his secretary, when Meghan was a toddler, the two remained close and Meghan enjoyed a happy upbringing with her parents.

Her father, a three-time Emmy Award winner, made a good six-figure living in the 1990s, often working through the night to give his daughter ballet and dance lessons, as well as private acting classes. there were.

He sent her to private school from kindergarten, then Immaculate Heart School in Los Angeles, then to prestigious Northwestern University in Illinois.

This week, as he sorted through his life’s possessions in preparation for a move, he seemed to be nostalgic for happier times.

Markle looked at photos of herself and her beautiful, always-smiling daughter, who were often photographed arm in arm at proud school events such as graduations, concerts and school musicals where she helped light the stage.

he said with a laugh. “It was always a very bright show. Well, we had the lights on! I was very involved in the school production.”

Next to one of Meghan’s first acting headshots, a black-and-white image taken by the Duchess himself, is an old flyer that shows she was on “Married With Children” and the game show “Deal Or No Deal.” It helped me get my first speaking role. These appearances gave her her start as an actress on SUITS, a show that brought her to international attention.

He showed me birthday and Christmas cards written in Meghan’s trademark calligraphy. The unique cursive handwriting was on display in the opening credits of her new TV show this week. She also used her skills to make some cash by writing wedding invitations during the off-season when acting jobs dried up.

He said, “There were good times. She was a good girl.” “Even though I don’t like some of the things my daughter has done, I will always love her.” ‘s door is always open to her. I love her and that will never change. I love all of my children.

“Meghan once asked me to stop talking to Tom Jr. and Samantha, my children from my first marriage. But what parent would agree to that?”

Markle remains “embarrassed” by the fact that she believes her daughter blamed her for not attending her May 2018 wedding because she suffered two heart attacks the night before the ceremony. I am doing it.

When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry claimed that a car was waiting for them at home to take them to Los Angeles to catch a flight to London, Meghan was being treated for a heart condition at a hospital in Rosarito and had since returned to the United States. He was transported across the border and had two cardiac stents inserted.

After being discharged from hospital, instead of walking his daughter down the aisle of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, he rented an Airbnb to watch the wedding. He showed me a doctor’s note forbidding me to travel.

Markle said she was “incredibly grateful” to King Charles for walking her daughter halfway down the aisle. “I’m a grandfather and he’s the King of England, but he’s also a grandfather who wants to meet his grandson.”

he shook his head. “I’m not running away. I’m looking for a more positive life. Every day I see something about Meghan. This week was a new TV show.

“I hope she means no ill will. My dream is that one day our whole family will be able to get together like a ‘normal’ family.”

“The British people have been very kind to me and I would like to thank them for their support and kindness.

“I will always have kind feelings for the kind people of England,” he said, closing his door for the last time and we climbed into a Cadillac and headed to Los Angeles International Airport. .

As I waved goodbye to him and Tom Jr., I felt sad, but also hopeful that Thomas Markle would eventually find the peace he deserves.

he said to me: “This is a new year and a time for a fresh start.”

Bon Voyage, Tom – and good luck.