"I wish things could be different."
Meghan Markle's half sister is speaking out!
Following some controversial comments about the Duchess of Sussex, Samantha Markle has issued an apology to the newly minted royal. During an appearance on British show Jeremy Vine, Samantha said that she "wish[es] things could be different." Though Samantha did express her remorse, she also credited being left out of Meghan's royal wedding to Prince Harry as the reason for the animosity.
"There is so much water under the bridge and so much has spun out of control that was never intended to," Samantha told host Jeremy after he asked what message she had for Meghan. "I think everybody was hurt by not being included or invited to the wedding, but I felt as though it could have all been nipped in the bud had everyone been included and we all just agreed to move forward with positive resolve, and the hurt feelings wouldn't have snowballed."
"But, believe it or not, it doesn't mean that we love you any less," Samantha, a writer, continued. "I just think that families can be this way when there's confusion and when people are hurt. So, moving forward, I apologize and I wish things could be different."
During her appearance, viewers called in to weigh in on Samantha's behavior, many offering some harsh words.
"Most of what you read in the tabloids is not true," Samantha said after one caller bashed her for her public comments. "...There have been so many times I've said, in live interviews, favorable things but they were not printed."
Another caller asked about Samantha's motives for originally speaking out, for which she cited alleged mistreatment of her father, Thomas Markle.
"[My father] was being purposely ignored," Samantha claimed. "We were hoping that private channels would be used. When they failed we went public.The goal at that point wasn't just getting closer. It was also about bringing out a very important point that you don't isolate family, you are a humanitarian."
Samantha continued, "The public were making a mockery of the family and it had to stop. Perhaps I was frustrated. I was lashing out more at the media."
Samantha also defended her father, for whom she said "money was not the goal." Her defense of her dad comes after he allegedly staged paparazzi photos of himself and accepted paid interviews.
"With regards to the money and this idea of cashing in, he was turning down $50,000 interviews," Samantha claimed. "So clearly money was not the goal, and the small amount of money that he received, £1,500 [about $1,794.93], photographers made the money – not my father. It was never a goal."
When it came to the paparazzi photos, Samantha alleged that she came up with the idea after the press made him "look like a horrible slob."
''I would regret more allowing paparazzi to continue to make him look like a horrible slob and do everything they could to disparage him," she said. "[It felt] really wrong to allow that to continue."
After the photo scandal and health issues, Thomas was unable to attend the royal wedding, something, Samantha said, he was "looking forward to."
"He really wasn't up to par, but because he wanted to be at the wedding, he ignored the signs," she said. "...I think he was in denial, he wanted to be tough and brave it – be able to walk my sister down the aisle."
As for why she thinks Meghan shut her out, Samantha thinks the Duchess was simply hurt.
"I think that perhaps she was hurt – I felt like she should know better than to believe tabloids, but I think quite frankly she probably believed what she was seeing as well, and I guess there's also protocol that you say nothing," Samantha said. "So I think that snowballed unfortunately to a lot of hurt feelings on everyone's part, and I'm hoping that we can have a happy ending."
Samantha's currently in London -- a place she's "always wanted to see" -- but thinks it's unlikely that Meghan will speak to her in person. "I was hoping that maybe we would have the chance to speak, that she would know I was here," Samantha said. "But I don't think that's going to happen."
"There's so much misperception and hopefully we could clear up the record and move forward with peaceful resolve," Samantha said of her hopes for an in-person meeting.
Though Samantha acknowledged that Meghan was certainly hurt by the comments, Samantha continuously claimed that "reality has been twisted."
"This media madness has been quite overwhelming. And maybe it's quite powerful," Samantha said. "And so when you take something as powerful as that, that goes around the world at lightning speed, larger than life, whether you say nothing or you say something it's almost always twisted, we've experienced, for negative effect to sell publications."
Despite everything, Samantha seemed pleased that Meghan has "found her prince."
"As my little sister, and being older, I would think when I get older and when I pass away you wonder will your kids and your younger siblings be left in good hands? Well, I'm thankful she is in very good hands," she said of Prince Harry.
Watch the video below for more on Meghan's family drama:
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