Meghan Markle’s former best friend Jessica Mulroney is said to be ‘concerned’ about the future of their friendship after the Duchess failed to get in touch on her daughter’s birthday.
Mulroney, 40, hosted a party for her youngest daughter Ivy’s seventh birthday on June 12 but it sparked fears that her friendship with the Duchess is ‘now over for good’ when Markle didn’t reach out.
Ivy had been a bridesmaid at Markle’s wedding, with Mulroney’s twins Brian and John also acting as page boys.
‘They had barely spoken and Jess agreed her husband Ben could confiscate her phone because she needed a break away from technology,’ a source told The Sun.
Canadian stylist Jessica Mulroney, 40, (left) fears her friendship Meghan Markle (right) is over
Mulroney has reportedly not heard from Markle after a run-in with blogger Sasha Exeter (pictured), where the pair argued over white privilege and Mulroney threatened to sue
Mulroney’s youngest daughter Ivy had been a bridesmaid at Markle’s wedding
‘She was then really concerned when she didn’t hear anything from Meghan on Ivy’s birthday and is worried the friendship is now over for good, she’s been very upset about this whole situation.
‘Meghan obviously can’t be seen in public with her, she needs to cool it for now, but it will be surprising if she doesn’t get back in touch because Jess knows a lot.’
Markle has reportedly distanced herself from Mulroney after the stylist threatened to sue black influencer Sasha Exeter when the pair got into a dispute over white privilege on Instagram.
Exeter says Mulroney ‘took offense’ to a ‘generic call to action’ that she posted on her Instagram story weeks ago and that the pair then started arguing.
She claimed the Canadian stylist, who rose to fame due to her friendship with Markle, shared a series of unpleasant messages in which she allegedly threatened to sue Exeter.
Mulroney, a mother-of-three, admitted ‘I was wrong’ after clashing with lifestyle blogger in the wake of the George Floyd protests.
Yet she was promptly fired from ABC’s Good Morning America and had her reality TV show I Do, Redo cancelled.
She also made the decision to step away from a charity she founded with her sister-in-laws in the wake of the outrage.
Mulroney has now reportedly hired lawyers, image experts and crisis PR teams to help put the backlash from her recent row behind her and stage a comeback.
‘She’s going to try and prove herself, I understand, but that is absolutely the wrong thing to do,’ the source told The Sun.
‘It’s not the moment for that, with everything going on in the world, nobody cares about your social media, she’s a little bit addicted to it.
‘Meghan obviously can’t be seen in public with her,’ a source said of their friendship. Markle, 38, first met Mulroney, 40, while she was filming legal drama Suits in Toronto
Jessica Mulroney, pictured, is said to be attempting to stage a comeback
‘She’s constantly on her phone, she’d reply to all of the negative comments on her Instagram, she would engage with people and then she’d delete her responses, we saw this over and over again,’ they added.
‘She needs to lay low and just be a mom for a while, hope people start to forget about this.’
Mulroney’s husband Ben was also affected in the wave of backlash.
On Monday, the 44-year-old TV host and son of former Canadian Prime Minister announced that he is stepping down from his CTV entertainment show ‘etalk’ amid his wife’s headline-grabbing race row.
He said that he would be ‘immediately’ leaving the show he’d been on for 18 years.
‘It is my hope that that new anchor is Black, Indigenous or a person of color, and they can use this important platform to inspire, to lead and to make change,’ he added.
The source told The Sun that this had caused friction between the couple.
‘Yes, definitely. I know even before there’s been a lot of chatter about that,’ they said.
‘There has been obvious tension between Jess and her sister-in-law Vanessa for a while. And this is just not how an established family wants to be seen.’
Mulroney’s husband Ben, pictured with her here, was also affected by the backlash and on Monday announced that he is stepping down from his CTV entertainment show ‘etalk’
Markle, 38, was left ‘absolutely mortified’ with Mulroney’s ‘tone-deaf’ threats to Exeter and can ‘no longer be associated with her’, close friends previously told DailyMail.com.
‘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.
Markle first met Mulroney while she was filming legal drama Suits in Toronto, and the stylist went on to attend her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 – however Meghan has now reportedly ended their friendship ‘for good’.
An insider told Page Six that their relationship was ‘already on the out’, because Meghan felt that Jessica was ‘making a career out of the friendship’.
Speaking to Page Six, the source said: ‘The white privilege row has really given Meghan the excuse she was waiting for to cut Jess off for good.
‘I don’t know what the tipping point was, but Jess has been on the outs for some time.
‘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?’
The scandal brings intense embarrassment to Markle who devoted her brief time as a royal to promoting social good and is a life-long racial equality activist.