How Meghan Markle's Ex-Pal 'Spiraled' After Being 'Dumped' By Diva Duchess Over Racism Scandal — Five Years Before 'Splitting' With Her Husband After 16 Years of Marriage
Meghan Markle 'ghosted' her best friend Jessica Mulroney amid her P.R. crisis in 2020.
Aug. 1 2025, Published 5:14 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle's former best friend Jessica Mulroney has been on a dark downward spiral ever since the Duchess of Sussex "cut off" their friendship five years ago, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
It's been a rough couple of years for Canadian stylist and marketing consultant Mulroney ever since Markle "ghosted" her in 2020 – and now she has to weather a divorce from her husband of 16 years without her close pal at her side.
Anxiety Spilled Over
Mulroney and Markle were best friends until 2020 when the Duchess dropped her amid a P.R. scandal.
The source continued: "Jessica's been open about her anxiety over the years.
"Ben tried to be supportive, but the toll of everything was possibly too much."
Markle dropped Mulroney after she was called out by lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter, who claimed the fashion stylist demonstrated "textbook white privilege" and did not amplify Black voices during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Mulroney made matters worse when she fired back at Exeter and threatened to have her blacklisted from brands unless she left her alone.
Racism Scandal
Mulroney was accused of demonstrating 'textbook white privilege' by a blogger during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Exerter refused, saying: "I’m by no means calling Jess a racist, but what I will say is this: she is very well aware of her wealth, perceived power and privilege because of the color of her skin and that, my friends, gave her the momentary confidence to come for my livelihood in writing."
Then, the blogger shared text messages from Mulroney, who implicated Markle while attempting to apologize.
Mulroney wrote in one message: "As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre. It was deeply educational.
"I learned a lot from that. “I promise to continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support black voices.”
Markle's As Ever lifestyle brand debuted a new rosé for the founder's birthday on August 4.
Markle has long been open about her personal experiences with racism, especially after she gave up her full-time royal duties and moved to California in 2020.
At the time of Mulroney's P.R. crisis, sources claimed Markle ended their friendship because she felt the stylist wanted to "make a career out of the friendship."
Another insider 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."
'Ghosted' by Duchess
Sources said anxiety from Markle cutting Mulroney off own spilled over into her marriage.
Insiders suggested anxiety from her fallout with Markle – and loss of high-paying jobs in the aftermath – spilled over to her marriage.
A source reportedly said: "It didn't help that Meghan effectively 'ghosted' Jessica after 2020, basically cutting her off entirely.
"Jessica played coy about the end of their friendship for a bit, but at a certain time, she started teasing (that things were over)."
Mulroney ended up losing more than just Markle's friendship over the Exeter scandal.
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She was dropped from Good Morning America and Canadian TV network CTV, the home of her wedding reality show, I Do, Redo.
An insider said: "Jessica never really seemed to recover from that incident, losing all of her gigs around that time, including her GMA job."
While Mulroney and her husband remained together during her fall from grace, sources said cracks "started to show."
They added: "They presented a united front. It was them against the world, and they were so angry for a while that the anger possibly fueled them. But in many ways, the incident also exposed cracks in their marriage."
