The mother of one of Meghan Markle’s ex-boyfriends has jumped to her defense and slammed the ‘jealous, hostile bullying’ the royal has faced.
Joanne Vitiello, from Ontario, is the mother of celebrity chef Cory, whom Meghan dated for two years before she met Prince Harry, 35.
In a now-deleted tweet, Joanne responded to news that 72 MPs have signed an open letter in support of the Duchess of Sussex.
She posted: ‘It’s about time! So sad and shocking to see there is so much jealous, hostility and bullying directed her way.’
The Duchess of Sussex dated celebrity chef Cory for two years before breaking up shortly before Meghan met Prince Harry in 2016 (Cory, pictured with Meghan in 2014)
Joanne Vitiello, from Ontario (pictured with her husband), shared her support for her son Cory’s former girlfriend Meghan Markle
Meghan dated Joanne’s son Cory Vitiello for two years from May 2014 until May 2016, with his mother previously saying the relationship was ‘absolutely’ serious.
The couple are believed to have broken up just weeks before Meghan met Prince Harry, with the former-actress waxing lyrical about Cory on her now-closed blog The Tig.
Calling him her ‘very favourite chef’, she wrote about him and his restaurant, commenting: ‘And maybe that’s part of it – the small-town charm and moral compass of someone who doesn’t come from the big city, but dreams big thoughts and makes them happen – that makes his food so approachable yet inspired.’
Diane shared her support for her son’s former girlfriend in a response to Meghan’s best friend Jessica Mulroney.
Meghan’s former stylist and close friend posted a reaction to the news 72 female MPs had signed an open letter in support of the Duchess of Sussex.
Jessica tweeted in support of the letter, posting a heart emoji and commenting: ‘This is what I’m talking about.’
In a now deleted tweet, Joanne posted that it was ‘so sad and shocking’ to see ‘so much jealousy, hostility and bullying directed towards her’
And Diane was quick to respond to Jessica’s tweet, in a now-deleted post, which read: ‘It’s about time!
‘So sad and shocking to see there is so much jealous, hostility and bullying directed her way.’
The letter said that ‘as women MPs of all political persuasions’ the group wanted to ‘stand against’ stories they said were ‘often distasteful and misleading’ in a number of national newspapers across the UK.
Joanne’s comment came as 72 female MPs signed an open letter in support of the Duchess of Sussex
Meghan’s best friend and former stylist Jessica Mulroney also spoke out in support of the move from female politicians
Jessica tweeted ‘This is what I’m talking about’ in a post which was liked thousands of times online
It continued: ‘On occasions, stories and headlines have represented an invasion of your privacy and have sought to cast aspersions about your character, without any good reason as far as we can see.’
‘Even more concerning still, we are calling out what can only be described as outdated, colonial undertones to some of these stories.
‘As women members of Parliament from all backgrounds, we stand with you in saying it cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.’
Diane’s comments come as 72 female MPs signed an open letter supporting the Duchess of Sussex
Diane has been effusive in her praise for Meghan, who spent the Christmas of 2015 with the Vitiello family, staying for several days at their home in Brantford, west of Toronto.
In the past, Diane has spoken about how ‘very fond’ the family are of the Duchess, saying: ‘She is a lovely, lovely woman. Very smart, very bright, very caring. She’s a warm personality, very sincere.
‘We very much enjoyed the time we spent with her. She fitted very well into our family. The Royal Family, and Britain, is very lucky to have her.’