Meghan Markle’s former UK friend Nick Ede has revealed why the pair quietly went their separate ways after she began a new life with Prince Harry, suggesting their relationship changed significantly once Meghan became a member of the Royal Family.
Before marrying Harry and becoming the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan had developed friendships in Britain during her time as an actress on Suits and while making regular visits to the UK.
Ede, a PR expert and television personality, was among the people Meghan knew during that period, and he has now opened up about what happened to their friendship after her relationship with Harry became serious.
Speaking to the Express, Ede stressed that there had never been a dramatic falling-out between them and said their relationship simply changed as Meghan’s circumstances evolved.
“It’s not that we ever fell out, we just went our separate ways,” Ede explained, adding that they are no longer particularly friendly despite their previous closeness.
The PR expert suggested that Meghan’s position within the Royal Family made maintaining certain friendships more complicated, particularly because of his connections with people working in the media.
Ede said it “wasn’t right” for their friendship to continue in the same way after Meghan became a royal, given his professional connections and the number of mutual acquaintances they shared.
He also suggested that Meghan’s priorities and social circle changed as her public role became increasingly demanding, saying there were people who were considered more useful to her professionally at that particular stage of her life.
Despite the distance between them, Ede insisted he was not bitter about how their friendship ended and appeared to accept that relationships can change when people enter dramatically different phases of their lives.
“I did a lot of stuff with her, we were really good friends, we had a lovely relationship,” he recalled, while making clear that their paths eventually moved in different directions.
Ede believes the history between them could become more relevant now that Meghan has returned to Britain, particularly because she is once again spending time in a country where she previously established a wide network of personal and professional connections.
He described the situation as something that could potentially represent a challenge for Meghan as she rebuilds her UK presence, although there is no indication that the former friends are involved in any active dispute.
The comments also highlight how dramatically Meghan’s social world changed after her relationship with Harry became public and she transitioned from American actress to senior working royal.
Ede acknowledged that he understands the publicity and celebrity industries extremely well, but his comments about stories circulating among his Hollywood contacts were notably cautious.
He said friends in Hollywood had told him “horrific stories” about Meghan, while openly acknowledging that he could not know whether all of those accounts were accurate.
“Some of them I’m sure are true, some of them maybe not,” Ede said, making clear that the stories he had heard should not automatically be treated as established facts.
His comments therefore offer a personal account of a friendship that gradually faded rather than evidence of a major confrontation between himself and Meghan.
As Meghan establishes a new chapter of her life and spends more time in Britain, Ede’s recollections provide another glimpse into the relationships she left behind during her transition into royal life, while also raising questions about which old friendships might remain part of her future UK circle.
