Fact Check: Did Meghan Markle File $80m Harry Divorce Papers?
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s marriage has been well-documented over the past 12 months with a podcast, a documentary series, and Harry’s autobiography, Spare, offering insight into their celebrity life together.
Details of the couple’s relationship have often been shared alongside the growing distance and separation of Prince Harry from the royal family, the pair sharing much of the fallout publicly.
The gossip circus that has followed them has often invited spurious and misleading claims too, with one suspicious rumor shared on social media this week that Markle had filed divorce papers for an extraordinary sum.
The Claim
A tweet by commentator Ada Lluch, posted on July 11, 2023, and viewed 6.9 million times, claimed that Meghan Markle had “allegedly filed divorce papers asking for $80 million plus the total custody of Archie and Lilibet.”
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The tweet read: “Rumors are that Meghan Markle is separating from Harry.
“She took him from his family after she embarrassed the British Royal Family and made his whole nation hate him.
“Now that Harry is broke and lonely because of her, she has allegedly filed divorce papers asking for $80 million plus the total custody of Archie and Lilibet.”
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been the source of multiple false rumors on social media, which have included Markle lying about her age, and listing herself as “caucasian” on a “babe” site.
This latest claim is no more accurate than some of this other gossip.
Responding to Newsweek, Lluch said her tweet was based on two articles from Spanish news outlet Marca, and entertainment site Showbiz Cheat Sheet.
The Marca article, published on July 2, 2023, titled: “Meghan Markle’s astronomical divorce fee from Prince Harry revealed” mentions the $80 million filing directly, stating: “Adding to all these rumours, the British press is also reporting that Markle has filed a financial demand for 80 million dollars to sign the divorce papers, as well as demanding sole custody of their two children.”
The article makes no reference to any original or immediately verifiable sources, naming only the “British press”. Apart from the fact that it appears no British newspaper or media outlet has made this claim, Prince Harry and Meghan were seen together in public less than two weeks ago, in Santa Barbara, California.
The article by Showbiz Cheat Sheet, published June 8, 2023, discusses the plausibility of divorce rumors but doesn’t mention a divorce filing.
Although the pair have been subject to rumors about the state of their marriage, sources close to the couple have dismissed these claims saying they are “happy together”, reports say.
Karl Larsen, a photographer who launched a YouTube channel with Meghan Markle’s father Thomas, wrote on his Instagram stories earlier this month: “So nice to see my friends Harry and Meghan on Friday before they get away for the long weekend. Please do not believe the media. They are very much in love, and are happy together nothing but smiles and laughter here.”
Whatever the strength of that, the fact remains that there is no credible evidence supporting the notion that Markle has filed an $80 million divorce from Harry.
Newsweek has contacted a representative for Meghan Markle via email for comment. Marca was also contacted via email.
Prince Harry faces some tough next steps in his stateside media career with Meghan Markle, following the couple’s snubbing by Emmy voters on Thursday, which saw their debut documentary series with Netflix fail to secure a coveted nomination in the category of “Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series.”
Things looked bright for the Harry & Meghan six-part series which debuted globally on Netflix’s streaming platform on December 8, 2022, becoming the fastest-streamed docuseries on the site despite negative reviews from critics.
The tweet by Ada Lluch was based on two articles, only one of which mentions an $80 million divorce filing, a claim based on completely unsubstantiated sources.
While there have been rumors about the state of the couple’s marriage recently, the $80 million has not been reported by any reputable media outlets. There is no other evidence that suggests this is true.
