Who’s who in the ‘dumped by Meghan Markle’ club: Which of the Duchess’ former pals are still loyal to each other (and the Priyanka Chopra and Jessica Mulroney connection might sting!)

In the past eight years, Meghan Markle’s life has changed beyond recognition – and her slimmed-down friendship circle undeniably reflects that.

When she first started dating Prince Harry in 2016, the Suits actress – who was living in Toronto at the time – counted Jessica Mulroney among her best friends and even included the stylist’s three children in her wedding party. Despite ‘Jess’ reportedly playing an ‘influential’ role in Megxit, Meghan distanced herself from the mother-of-three after she became embroiled in a race row in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

However, Jessica isn’t the first friend of Meghan’s who has been dumped (or ‘Markled’ as critics label it) in such a way – as her ex-stylist appears to still have a friendly relationship with the Duchess’ Suits co-stars. Here FEMAIL takes a look back at Meghan’s former friends who have remained loyal to each other after being ditched by the Duchess. Before meeting Prince Harry, Meghan Markle dated chef Cory Vitiello for two years until their split in May 2016.

The couple are believed to have broken up just weeks before Meghan met Prince Harry, with the former-actress waxing lyrical about Cory on her blog The Tig. Calling him her ‘very favourite chef’, she wrote about him and his restaurant, commenting: ‘And maybe that’s part of it – the small-town charm and moral compass of someone who doesn’t come from the big city, but dreams big thoughts and makes them happen – that makes his food so approachable yet inspired.’

Cory and Meghan met when she dined with Suits cast members at The Harbord Room, the trendy Toronto restaurant he then owned. They quickly fell in love, and according to his mother Joanne he began staying at Meghan’s rented townhouse near the restaurant. The chef’s mother describes them as ‘homebodies’ who avoided attending public events if possible and did their best to keep the romance private.

In April 2018, a source told the Daily Mail that Cory – who bears a striking resemblance to Prince Harry – began to tire of Meghan’s alleged ‘prima donna-like behaviour’. When they went out for the evening or travelled together, she would allegedly embarrass Cory by announcing she starred in the US television series Suits, and asking for the best tables and seats. The final straw came at a dinner party for friends, it is rumoured. When their guests praised the inventive main course of pasta interwoven with courgette spirals, Meghan, 36, claimed she had dreamed up the recipe when, in truth, Cory had created the dish.

Despite their split, some of Meghan’s friendship group at the time remained loyal to Cory and still follow the chef – who shares a son with songwriter Martina Sorbara – on Instagram. Meghan’s estranged best friend Jessica Mulroney and her husband Ben are among Cory’s 15,000 Instagram followers along with Meghan’s former co-stars Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J Adams. What’s more, Cory also follows Jessica and Ben Mulroney – suggesting that he still has a friendly relationship with them.

In November 2015, Meghan and Cory joined Ben and Jessica and a group of friends for dinner with Michael Buble to celebrate his star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. Cory has never publicly spoken about his relationship with Meghan – other than to say she is a ‘great girl’ and he was ‘proud of her’.