Meghan Markle Reached Out to Her Estranged Father Thomas After He Was Left 'Fighting for His Life' at Hospital... and Got His Leg Amputated
Meghan Markle is confirmed to have reached out to her father following his 'life or death' emergency procedure.
Dec. 5 2025, Published 7:55 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle has reached out to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, after he was left "fighting for his life" in the Philippines, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former royal's rep confirmed Meghan did indeed contact her dad after learning of his devastating predicament.
A 'Life or Death' Situation
Meghan Markle is confirmed to have reached out to her father after he was hospitalized.
"I can confirm she has reached out to her father," the spokesperson for Meghan shared. Meghan's camp had previously denied a previous report she had contacted her dad, but changed their tune after Thomas' latest update, revealed by his son, Thomas Jr.
Thomas Jr. had told an outlet his 81-year-old dad had his leg amputated below the knee on December 3, in the Philippines, where the two have been living since earlier this year, after a blood clot in his thigh reportedly cut off circulation. He also described the emergency procedure as "life or death," saying his father's foot had turned "blue then black" before the amputation was suggested.
The context of Meghan's message to her dad was not revealed by her spokesperson.
Why Was Thomas Markle in the Hospital?
Thomas Markle had been left hospitalized in the Philippines, and had his leg amputated.
Thomas Jr had previously revealed he had to take his father to "a hospital close to our home, and they did various scans, and the doctors said his life was in imminent danger."
The 59-year-old continued: "They raced us by ambulance, with the sirens going, to a much bigger hospital in the center of the city. My dad has undergone emergency surgery. I would ask everyone around the world to keep him in their thoughts."
Thomas Sr.'s daughter Samantha, who is also estranged from Meghan, added at the time: "My father has been through two heart attacks, a stroke, and an earthquake. I hope he can pull through this."
She said: "He is a strong man, but he has been through so much. I am praying that he is strong enough to survive this."
The Reason Behind Fractured Relationship
The pair have been estranged since 2018.
Soon after, Thomas Jr. explained the elder Markle underwent surgery before being transferred to intensive care, where doctors prepared him for another operation to remove a blood clot. It is at this time the amputation became the only option.
"There was no option. I was told the leg had to be removed, and it was a case of life or death," Thomas Jr. said. "My dad is being very brave. His foot turned blue and then black. It happened very quickly.
"I took him to a local hospital, and they did some scans and an ultrasound and said the leg had to be amputated."
Meghan and her father have been estranged since before her memorable wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. Thomas Sr. decided to stage paparazzi pictures in the run-up to her wedding, lied about it, and then suffered two heart attacks.
As a result, he was unable to fly from Los Angeles to London to walk his daughter down the aisle.
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Thomas Markle was not at his daughter's wedding to Prince Harry.
Meghan walked into St George’s Chapel on the arm of King Charles.
The former Suits actress, during an interview with Oprah Winfrey three years later, recalled confronting him about staged paparazzi photos and told him to tell the truth.
"I said, ‘If you tell me the truth, we can help,’ and he wasn’t able to do that," she recalled to Winfrey. "And that, for me, has really resonated, especially now as a mother."
