Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, has a famously estranged relationship with her dad, Thomas Markle.
Thomas Markle, a former Hollywood lighting director, fell out with his daughter after admitting that he cooperated with staged paparazzi photos before her wedding, saying he wanted to change how he was being portrayed in the media. King Charles walked her down the aisle in 2018 while Thomas recovered from heart surgery in a hospital and missed the ceremony. Years later, there’s still no public indication that they’ve reconciled.
And now it appears that Thomas' health has taken a turn for the worse. That news came from his son and Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr., in an interview with the Daily Mail.
"My dad is being very brave. His foot turned blue then black. It happened very quickly. I took him to a local hospital and they did some scans and an ultrasound and said the leg had to be amputated," he told the site.
"There was no option," he added. "I was told the leg had to be removed and it was a case of life or death."
Thomas Jr. also said his dad isn't out of the woods yet. "One of his doctors said the next two or three days are critical," he told the Daily Mail. "His left leg has been removed below the knee. They were worried about infection setting in — sepsis or gangrene."
The Duchess of Sussex declined to comment to People through a representative.
According to People, Thomas, who is 81 and now living in the Philippines, has had health issues in the past that included a stroke in 2022.
In 2021, Meghan opened up about her fractured relationship with her dad, telling Oprah Winfrey, “I’ve lost my father," and discussing the fallout after the paparazzi photo scandal. “When they talk to me, I’ll stop talking to the press,” Tom Markle Sr. responded in an interview.