Meghan Markle's Friends Finally Tell Her Side of the Story, and Shed Light on How Her Dad (Allegedly) Wronged Her

Will we ever get to the bottom of the royal drama between Meghan Markle and her father, Thomas Markle? There are all kinds of rumors about what went on behind the scenes before Meghan's wedding (which, ICYMI, Thomas did not attend). And even though the duchess herself has avoided speaking to the press, some new info has come to light that suggests the duchess' dad isn't the innocent, wronged father he paints himself out to be publicly. 

As the drama swirls around the royal mother-to-be, a few of her friends have banded to together to tell her side of the story to PEOPLE. Though Thomas has claimed that he is unable to reach his daughter, one source close to Meghan said, "He knows how to get in touch with her. Her telephone number hasn’t changed. He’s never called; he’s never texted. It’s super painful, because Meg was always so dutiful. I think she will always feel genuinely devastated by what he’s done. And at the same time, because she’s a daughter, she has a lot of sympathy for him." 

And even though Thomas admitted to staging a paparazzi photo shoot days before the wedding, the source insists that Meghan was still intent on having her dad attend. "Meg and Harry were still so focused on getting [Tom] to London,” the source said. “At no point was there talk of ‘Now that we know he lied, he’s in trouble.’ Tom wouldn’t take her calls, wouldn’t take Harry’s calls."

It gets worse. The source added, "The next morning when the car got there [to take him to the airport], he wouldn’t get in. [Later] Meg heard he had a heart attack and she’s calling and texting, even up to the night before the wedding. It was like, ‘Please pick up. I love you, and I’m scared.’ It was endless."

In a letter that she sent to her dad after the wedding, Meghan's friend said, the duchess wrote: "Dad, I’m so heartbroken. I love you. I have one father. Please stop victimizing me through the media so we can repair our relationship ... He writes her a really long letter in return, and he closes it by requesting a photo op with her."

The source also weighed in on Meghan's half-siblings, one of whom (ahem, Samantha) has been quite vocal in the press. "They’ve been made to appear as siblings who were very close and then they had this falling out, and that’s not the truth at all." The source claimed that Meghan's half-siblings were never a part of her life growing up. "Fast way forward to Meghan dating Harry, and now Samantha is going by the last name Markle [after previously going by Grant]. And then she began this career capitalizing on Meg. Everyone who knows Meg knows that the two of them have no relationship."