Caroline Graham claimed Meghan Markle’s team sent the journalist “unnecessarily aggressive” messages for being by Thomas Markle’s hospital bedside.
The Daily Mail reporter spoke out in a lengthy article published Saturday, stating that she became good friends with Thomas after interviewing him about his rift with the Duchess of Sussex when she got married to Prince Harry in 2018.
“I feel it is important to set the record straight,” she wrote. “I’ve only ever written stories with Tom’s express permission, and he told me he wanted to give an interview to The Mail on Sunday as he sought control of the narrative around his amputation.”
“He’s been burned a lot by people on the internet making up stories. He also wanted to reach out ‘one last time’ to Meghan,” Graham added.
The writer explained that she first met Thomas, 81, when he was living in Mexico and can “count on [her] fingers of one hand those [she’s] stayed friends with.”
She described the past few weeks since Thomas was hospitalized and his leg was amputated as “a roller-coaster in his life” and hers.
Graham recalled Thomas Sr.’s son, Thomas Markle Jr., urging her to fly to the Philippines, where they live, to be with his father.
“Thomas Jr. called me back to say he’d spoken to the surgeon who said there was a massive blood clot in his father’s thigh and it was ‘life or death,’” the writer continued.
She reflected on her past conversations with Thomas Sr. and how he’s allegedly been unable to contact Meghan, which is why he initially agreed to speak with her years ago, and continues to interview.
The reporter claimed that she and Thomas Sr. had an agreement that anything he shared with her was “off the record” unless he stated otherwise.
While in the hospital, Graham claimed she attempted to help Thomas get in contact with Meghan’s PR team after the actress’s spokesperson alleged they’ve been calling several hospitals in Cebu to locate him.
Graham also claimed that the “Suits” alum’s PR team stated they sent Thomas Sr. an email, but the writer claimed the dad of three hadn’t used the email address for years.
Following Graham’s recent stories about Thomas Sr. not hearing from Meghan, she stated the Netflix star’s team was “unnecessarily aggressive” toward her.
She directed them to speak with the paper’s editors and legal team due to concerns.
Graham shared that she has expressed to Thomas Sr. how she would “walk away from [their] friendship if it meant he could reconcile” with his daughter.
“Painful as that would be — and we both had tears in our eyes as we discussed it again last week — it would be impossible for him to reconcile with her while having a friend in the media, particularly one in the British Press, for which Prince Harry has repeatedly expressed his hatred,” she said.
Reps for Meghan, 44, weren’t immediately available to Page Six for comment.
Last week, Meghan’s team confirmed that she had a letter delivered to Thomas.
“Given that a Daily Mail reporter [Caroline Graham] has remained at her father’s bedside throughout, broadcasting each interaction and breaching clear ethical boundaries, it has been exceedingly difficult for the Duchess to contact her father privately, despite her efforts over the past several days,” the spokesperson said.
“With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands,” the statement continued.
In Graham’s report, she stated she was present when the letter was delivered but didn’t pry into the details inside.
DMG media also fiercely defended Thomas Sr. and Graham’s relationship, denying that she had “breached ethical boundaries.”
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