Meghan Markle’s first husband had the rug pulled out from under him – says her best friend of 30 years

MEGHAN Markle is cold and calculating and “pulled the rug from under” her ex-husband, says a former friend of more than 30 years.

Ninaki Priddy and Meghan were “like sisters” from the age of two, but fell out when the Suits star moved to Toronto and split with hubby Trevor Engelson.

Designer Ninaki, maid of honour at their wedding in Jamaica, said: “What came to light after Trevor and I spoke ended my friendship with Meghan. I think everybody who knew them both was in shock.

“All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated, very calculated, in the way she handled people and relationships.

She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends.

“Once she decides you’re not part of her life, she can be very cold. It’s this shutdown mechanism she has.

“There’s nothing to negotiate. She’s made her decision and that’s it.

“The way she handled it, Trevor definitely had the rug pulled out from under him. He was hurt.”

Meghan and Ninaki, both now 36, grew up together in California.

They visited Europe together at 15 and posed for a snap outside Buckingham Palace.

Ninaki, who Meg called Niki, said the future screen star always wanted to be famous, owned a book about Princess Diana and loved the Princess Diaries film.

And she recalled Meghan “literally shone with happiness” when she wed Hollywood producer Trevor, 41, in 2011.

Ninaki said: “We’d been like sisters since we were two years old, so I knew she’d always wanted to get married.

“It was such a moving wedding. I started crying the moment I saw her in her dress.

“We had the ceremony on the beach. It was so beautiful to watch, beautiful to be a part of. They each wrote their own vows. They loved each other so much.”

Meg had recently moved to Toronto in Canada to film Suits.

Ninaki said: “Meg had just finished the first series. It was a big part for her — her first full-time role. She’d hustled for years to get there, so that was huge.

“Trevor was so supportive. He travelled back and forth from LA and there was a lot of Skyping and FaceTiming going on.

“It was an exciting time. This was the man she wanted to have children with. Meg used to tell me she couldn’t imagine a life without Trevor. She said if anything were to happen to him she wouldn’t be able to go on.

“He cherished her too. You should have seen the way he used to hold her face in his hands. We all felt he was her eternal love. It was such as shock when she told me they were getting divorced.”

Ninaki says she fell out with Meghan, wed just two years, because she disapproved of the manner of the break-up.
She said Meghan also developed a sense of “entitlement”.

She added: “After the wedding, it was like a light switched off. There’s Meghan Before Fame and Meghan After Fame.

“It’s not up to me to speak for Trevor, but I know he was travelling to Toronto every few weeks and would have walked the Earth to make their marriage work. I don’t believe she gave him enough of an opportunity. I think there was an element of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ for Meghan.”

A few months after their separation Meghan reportedly began dating dashing Toronto-based celebrity chef Cory Vitiello.

She and Ninaki stopped speaking.

Jewellery designer Ninaki told The Daily Mail: “The end of our friendship was like a death. I mourned it for quite a while.

“Even now I’ll pass by a magazine stand and see a face staring out at me that was such a big part of my life. It was always Niki and Meg. We were so close-knit we came as a two.

“We were both honorary daughters in each other’s homes. We were like family.”