Piers Morgan Speaks About Meghan Markle Friendship, Falling-Out

Piers Morgan is opening up about how he became friends with Meghan Markle and how things changed between them.

Morgan, who is set to launch his new show "Uncensored," shared a blow-by-blow account of his friendship with the Duchess of Sussex during a recent interview with U.K.'s The Times.

The former "Good Morning Britain" host claimed that Markle first messaged him in 2015 after he followed her on Twitter after watching some episodes of her TV series, "Suits."

"One day, I was bored at home – this was 2015 – and I followed four of the stars of 'Suits' on Twitter. Three of the guys and Meghan Markle… She direct-messaged me five minutes after I followed her saying, 'Oh my God, thanks for the follow. I'm such a big fan!' which is quite ironic given the way things have played out," Morgan told the outlet. "She'd watched me on CNN, liked me, blah-blah-blah, whatever."

Morgan said he then started exchanging messages with Markle and her co-star Rick Hoffman, who played Louis Litt in "Suits." He claimed to have been sent early preview episodes of the series and said he and Hoffman sent Markle photos when the actor made an appearance on "Good Morning Britain."

The TV personality then claimed that Markle asked to meet up with him when she came to the U.K. in 2016.

"Then, she was coming to England in 2016, I think, and she said, 'Could we meet up?' That came from her. I said, 'Why don’t you come and have a pint in my local, the Scarsdale?' She came down, we had a couple of hours, a great laugh, thought she was really nice. Great fun," Morgan told The Times.

Morgan claimed that during their chat, Markle told him she "was getting a few calls from guys, received a lot of texts, people being quite persistent."

He said Markle went to a dinner in Mayfair at 5 Hertford Street after he put her in a cab later that night.

Morgan claimed that he never heard from Markle again and that he later learned that the duchess had met Prince Harry that night.

He further claimed that it didn't take long before Hoffman also "disappeared" from his life, adding: "I just thought, the pair of them, such poor manners."

International Business Times could not independently verify these claims.

Morgan has been openly critical of Markle since her relationship with Prince Harry began.

He told The Times that his "feud" with Markle was due to several factors — the former actress allegedly ending their friendship after she met Prince Harry, damaging the royal family's reputation and making several claims during her March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Last year, Morgan quit "Good Morning Britain" after facing backlash over his response to Markle's sit-down with Winfrey, in which he questioned the duchess' authenticity while discussing her mental health.

"I don't believe a word she says, Meghan Markle," Morgan said on the show. "I wouldn't believe it if she read me a weather report and that fact that she fired up this onslaught against our royal family, I think is contemptible."

At the time, Morgan's co-host, Alex Beresford, condemned his comments, causing the former to storm off the set.

"I understand that you've got a personal relationship with Meghan Markle or had one and she cut you off," Beresford said. "She's entitled to cut you off if she wants to. Has she said anything about you since she cut you off? I don't think she has, but yet you continue to trash her."

U.K. media regulator Ofcom later launched an investigation into Morgan's comments after tens of thousands of complaints were brought against him, including one from Markle herself.

The regulator ruled in September 2021 that Morgan was "not in breach of its broadcasting rules" when he questioned Markle's claims of suicidal thoughts, live on the show.