Meghan Markle’s childhood best friend Ninaki Priddy has a LOT to say about the future royal – and most of it isn’t flattering.
In a new interview the former pal blasted the actress, saying the person she knew was “tough,” “cold,” “calculated” and “loved to be the centre of attention”.
The friends met aged two at Hollywood’s private Little Red Schoolhouse and were classmates all the way through high school at Los Angeles’ Immaculate Heart.
Ninaki told the Daily Mail that Meghan “always wanted to be famous” and used to practise Oscar acceptance speeches.
But she claims the now 36-year-old changed after landing the role of paralegal Rachel Zane in Suits in 2011.
Read more: Meghan Markle almost dated Ashley Cole
She said: “There’s ‘Meghan Before Fame’ and ‘Meghan After Fame’.'”
One of the sore subjects for Ninaki was Meghan’s first marriage to ex-husband Trevor Engelson, a Hollywood producer.
They were together for a decade, having met when Meghan was 23 and Trevor was 28.
Ninaki was Meghan’s maid of honour in the couple’s beachfront wedding in Jamaica, and she said of the 2011 ceremony: “It was so beautiful to watch, beautiful to be a part of. They each wrote their own vows. They loved each other so much.”
So when Meghan and Trevor split only two years later, Ninaki took it hard. “It was such a shock when she told me they were getting divorced,” she told the Mail.
She seems to have definitely taken Trevor’s side in the split. The former pal said of the couple’s long-distance relationship: “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.”
She added: “Trevor definitely had the rug pulled out from under him. He was hurt… I tried to get details from her, but she wouldn’t tell me.”
So Ninaki turned to Trevor for the story, and what he told her didn’t sit well with her.
“What came to light after Trevor and I spoke ended my friendship with Meghan. I think everybody who knew them both was in shock,” she said.
“All I can say now is that I think Meghan was calculated – very calculated – in the way she handled people and relationships,” Ninaki added.
“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.”
And when Ninaki realised that she was not part of Meghan’s life anymore, it was tough.
“We had the kind of love you have for a sister. The end of our friendship was like a death,” Ninaki told the British newspaper. “I mourned it for quite a while.”