Thomas Markle Sr.’s first wife sounded the alarm about his alleged child abuse years before he became the subject of a police investigation, multiple sources tell Page Six.
Roslyn Loveless, who was married to the former TV lighting director from 1964 to 1975, sent a letter detailing allegations about her ex-husband that found its way to London’s Metropolitan Police in 2019, we are told.
Although it’s not yet known what was in the letter, it was subsequently sent to Markle’s daughter, Meghan, by police. The Duchess of Sussex has said she was “deeply distressed” by the claims.
Meghan previously said she had been made aware of a letter sent to British police and other authorities that “made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.”
“I hope it can now be understood that, despite certain media publications’ distortion over the years, any distance from my father and my choice to not allow him to have contact with our children, was for one reason: to protect them,” the mom of two added. “I trusted that the authorities were doing the same for other families.”
“My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed,” she added.
The Sun broke the news that Thomas Sr. is being investigated over a large stash of child pornography reportedly found at his former home in the Philippines. The material was turned over to police this week by his son, Thomas Markle Jr., the newspaper reported.
Thomas Sr., 82, has vehemently denied the allegations, calling them “sick lies” in an interview with the Daily Mail Friday.
“I’m shocked, I’m hurt and I’m very upset that my son is making these accusations against me,” he said. “I could never do what I’m being accused of. It’s the worst thing anyone could accuse me of.”
Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, has also defended their father, accusing Thomas Jr. of fabricating the allegations for financial gain.
“There is no merit in these disgusting allegations whatsoever and my brother is disgusting for making them up. He wants to destroy our dad. Shame on him,” she told the Daily Mail Thursday.
Thomas Jr., meanwhile, called his father’s denial “incredible” and insisted that the evidence he turned over to police would reveal the truth.
“I’m sure the huge piles of evidence I’ve taken to the police today will reveal the truth once the police experts examine it,” he told The Sun Friday.
Loveless, now 80, is the mother of Samantha, 61, and Thomas Jr., 60, whom she shares with her ex-husband.
After divorcing Loveless, Thomas Sr. married Doria Ragland in 1979. The couple welcomed Meghan, now 45, and divorced in 1987, having separated when their daughter was about 2.
Days after the birth of Meghan’s first child, Prince Archie, in May 2019, Loveless publicly described her ex-husband as an “awful father” who should never be allowed to meet his grandson.
Speaking to The Mirror about their tumultuous marriage, Loveless alleged that Thomas Sr. cheated on her, including with one of her relatives, subjected her to abusive, foul-mouthed outbursts and withheld money to the point that she resorted to shoplifting food. She also spoke about his drug use.
“Knowing Tom as I do, Meghan would be a fool to have him in her life,” she said.
“Repeatedly he has shown to Meghan he cannot be trusted. She must know that now. I speak not out of bitterness, my life moved on many years ago, but out of concern.”
She added, “Archie deserves to be brought up in a happy home, not in this vengeful situation that has been created. Tom was an awful father. What makes him think he’d be a great grandfather to Archie?”
Although she said he was never violent, Loveless, who lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, alleged that he would “often lose his temper.”
“Whenever I asked for help to feed the kids or buy diapers, he’d scream, ‘Get a f–king job’ and then laugh,” she said.
Loveless also spoke of Thomas Sr.’s cocaine use, which he acknowledged in an interview with the National Enquirer in October 2018.
“In the industry, I worked in back in the 70s and 80s, there was cocaine around a lot. And I’m sure that I had an occasional sniff of cocaine,” he said.
Thomas Sr. also said he had traveled to the Philippines and frequented the now-defunct Playboy Club in Manila’s red-light district. He denied paying for sex.
Loveless told The Mirror that her ex-husband had at one point sent money to a woman in the city to help support her.
“He told me before he was supporting a family over there financially,” she said.
“He has always lived a dysfunctional life. My kids suffered as a result and I’m sure Meghan has too.”
At the time, Thomas Sr. dismissed his ex-wife’s allegations as “not valid.”
On Saturday, the Met confirmed it had found a record of the letter being sent to Meghan in January 2019, contradicting her initial recollection that she had received it in 2018.
A spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex subsequently clarified the timeline, telling The Sun that Meghan had simply misremembered the date and that the discrepancy was “understandable” given the time that had passed.
“In recalling events from more than seven years ago, without the benefit of a diary entry or contemporaneous record, it is understandable that she may have been mistaken by a few months,” he said.
“I think it is reasonable to recognize that she is doing her best to recall the precise timing of events that were not diarized at the time, and that any discrepancy of a few months is an understandable consequence of that passage of time.”
Sources told Page Six that Meghan was advised not to speak publicly about the matter for fear of jeopardizing a legal case.
Page Six has reached out to Loveless and representatives for the Sussexes for comment.