I’m really enjoying Omid Scobie’s weekly columns for Yahoo UK. While he hasn’t necessarily been breaking news in these columns, his thoughts on the royal stories of the moment are usually pretty fair and interesting. His latest column is about Thomas Markle and how his daughter Meghan doesn’t owe him a thing. Scobie points out that while the wedding fiasco was hurtful and awful for Meghan, she didn’t fully cut off contact with him until she sent him that letter and he just continued to give all of those interviews. That was in the summer of 2018. That’s when the estrangement really started. Some highlights from Scobie’s piece:
Another hospital stunt: The news of Thomas Markle’s suspected stroke broke in a way only a story can for the Markle clan. Alongside a conveniently captured video clip from his Chula Vista, California hospital stretcher (credited to a well-known paparazzi photo agency, of course) and exclusive details on gossip site TMZ, the rollout of Meghan’s 72-year-old father’s latest health crisis felt like May 2018 all over again. And just like that fateful summer, British media outlets didn’t take long to turn their attention to how the Duchess of Sussex should be reacting.
Finding Freedom & the Markles: During its earlier years, I covered my fair share of that family drama. In Finding Freedom, my co-author and I spent considerable time researching and reporting on the various characters involved in the breakdown of Meghan and Thomas’ relationship (and the toxic behaviour that led up to it)… Two years on and the book’s accurate portrayal feels a world away from the twisted tales now being shared by publicity-hungry Markle offspring and their progenitor. Thomas recently dedicated the first upload on his YouTube channel to a dissection of Finding Freedom (“full of her lies,” he alleged).
When Meghan stopped communicating with Toxic Tom: The staged photos, and the flurry of media interviews that followed, were a poor decision but, despite reports to the contrary, are not the reason why Meghan sticks to her decision to cease communication with her father. Many tabloid reports these days conveniently forget that this is a man who, after providing a private letter from his daughter to the Mail on Sunday, later joined forces with the tabloid and a Kensington Palace aide to try and bring down the duchess in her court case about the illegal publication of it. He is also a man who, after Meghan admitted to having suicidal thoughts after relentless media attacks, told a journalist: “Her lies are so obvious that I don’t know why she makes them or why she says them”.
Toxic Tom doesn’t care: Seeing clips of a quietly-spoken, elderly man who simply wants to meet his grandchildren, it’s easy to sympathise with his plight if one doesn’t know the full story. But given his multiple TV appearances dismissing the Sussexes’ claims that a royal family member expressed concerns about the colour of Archie’s skin, how much could he actually care for his grandson? And it was only a week ago he called the timing of granddaughter Lilibet’s first birthday (which takes place on the third day of jubilee celebrations), “trashy”.
Why Meghan cut him off: Breaking away from a toxic parent is one of the most difficult decisions a child can make. But when that family member has a history of creating stress, anxiety and pain through abusive behaviour and manipulative tactics, ending the relationship is often the only way to break the cycle….When Thomas responded to Meghan’s hand-written plea in late 2018 to stop airing their private business to the press, the solution he replied with was to stage a media-friendly photo call to show the world they have moved on. It was a suggestion that led Meghan to reluctantly acknowledge she was approaching the end of the road with her father. “I’m devastated,” I’m told she confessed to Prince Harry and her then communications secretary. “The media corrupted him. . . He’s so far gone.” From that moment forward, it has been a dignified, but by no means easy, wall of silence with her father. The few occasions where reconciliation could have been remotely possible were destroyed by more damaging media interviews.
Meghan doesn’t owe him anything: For Thomas—who within 24 hours of being released from the hospital continued his tabloid chats—he plans to continue speaking out until he gets the attention from his daughter that he feels he deserves. But that’s where he’s wrong. After tireless and failed attempts to repair their relationship, Meghan doesn’t owe him a damn thing.
I would be curious if Scobie has any insider tea on my pet theory, which is that Thomas Markle has British tabloid journalists writing his scripts. I’ve felt like that’s what is happening since 2018, because all too often it genuinely feels like Piers Morgan’s words are coming out of a Toxic Tom puppet. I also don’t really feel like “the media corrupted him” like this was forced upon him and not a series of choices he made himself. He’s a piece of sh-t. The media made it worse, of course, but trust me, this man is an utter piece of sh-t.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instar, GB News and 60 Minutes Australia.
USA Rights Only, The Hague, Netherlands – 20220417- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attending the Invictus Games athletics events in the Athletics Park, at Zuiderpark the Hague, Netherlands. -PICTURED: Prince Harry, Meghan Duchess of Sussex -PHOTO by: DDP/INSTARimages.com -ddp_17043883 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded 
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Flushing Meadows, NY – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex is seen watching Serena Williams Vs Bianca Andreescu during the women’s finals on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Pictured: Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2019 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Queens, NY – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex takes in the Serena Williams vs Bianca Andreescu women’s final tennis match at the US Open. Pictured: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 7 SEPTEMBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
** RIGHTS: WORLDWIDE EXCEPT IN NETHERLANDS ** Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA – Meghan the Duchess of Sussex visits a gender based violence education club and meets with partner the nature of violence against women and girls and the work they are undertaking to tackle it. Pictured: Meghan Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 1 OCTOBER 2019 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication* 
– New York – NY – 20210923 – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Visit the World Trade Center World Trade Center, NY – Prince Harry, Meghan Markle – Janet Mayer/Startraksphoto.com – – This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded
USA Rights Only – Tonga, Oceania -20181025- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend an official welcome at Consular House in Tonga on the first day of their visit to the country. -PICTURED: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan Duchess of Sussex -PHOTO by: Paul Edwards/PA Images/INSTARimages.com -39316609.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded 
North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220324-Royal Visit to the Caribbean – Day 6 Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge attend the inaugural Commissioning Parade for service personnel from across the Caribbean who have recently completed the Caribbean Military Academy’s Officer Training Program, in Kingston, Jamaica, on day six of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. -PICTURED: Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge -PHOTO by: Jane Barlow/PA Images/INSTARimages.com Disclaimer: This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact INSTAR Images for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207. This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. INSTAR Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded For images containing underage children: Be advised that some Countries may have restricted privacy laws against publishing images of underage children. Inform yourself! Underage children may need to be removed or have their face pixelated before publishingncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pLHLnpmirJOdxm%2BvzqZmcG5pZ4Bze9KcppuhlZSxtq%2FHnqqsl52atKmtzZibqJ2jo8Ggu9aelqGdopTBsMTInJafmaSdsrOrwJibmqWelMGptc2gZg%3D%3D