Meghan Markle’s estranged father has found love again with a Filipino nurse 35 years his junior.
Retired Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle, 81, says he feels ‘blessed and beyond happy’ to have found joy again after suffering years of anguish after his daughter allegedly ‘dumped’ him after her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
Last night Mr Markle said: ‘I never expected to find joy and happiness again at my age. I felt neglected and sad for so many years but now I am enjoying life again.
‘After so many tough times I feel truly blessed to have found someone very special who takes such good care of me.’
Mr Markle, who split with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland when Meghan was just five years old, met new love Rio Canedo, 46, as he recovered from life-threatening surgery to remove his left leg below the knee last December.
Rio, a mother of two grown children, had no idea who Mr Markle was when she first met him in mid-December of last year after he checked into the rehab hospital where she works in Cebu, a city in the Philippines that Mr Markle and his son Tom Jr, 59, moved to in January 2025.
Mr Markle, who has never met his son-in-law Prince Harry or his grandchildren Archie, six or four-year-old Lilibet, nearly died after doctors were forced to amputate his left lower leg after a massive blood clot blocked the supply of blood to his foot.
He spent four days in intensive care followed by weeks in hospital before being moved to a specialised rehabilitation unit in another medical centre.
Retired Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle, 81, who split with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland when Meghan was just five years old, has found love again new love with Filipino nurs Rio Canedo, 46 (pictured together)
Meghan Markle pictured with her father in 2011, whom she has been estranged after he suffered two heart attacks on the eve of her May 2018 wedding and was unable to walk her down the aisle
This week he invited the Mail on Sunday to spend time with him and his new love and said he expected a backlash from the ‘Sussex Squad’, the notoriously cruel online trolls who support Meghan and Harry, but added: ‘I know some people will say hurtful things but I don’t care.
‘I want to talk about this because I never thought I would ever be happy again.
‘I want people to know you’re never too old to find peace and love.
‘There’s a lot of negative things going on in the world and if my story can give a little hope to one person then I’m happy.
‘The haters will hate but, to be honest, I don’t give a damn. Life is for living. There’s nothing more important in life than love.’
Mr Markle became estranged from Meghan, 44 – who is only two years younger than her father’s new girlfriend – after he suffered two heart attacks on the eve of her May 2018 wedding and was unable to walk her down the aisle.
Meghan entered St. George’s Chapel on her own and was escorted part-way down the aisle by King Charles (then Prince of Wales) with her mother Doria being the only member of her family at the wedding.
Mr Markle claims he made repeated attempts to contact his daughter privately before eventually going public in a bid to reach her.
He said: ‘I still don’t know why she ghosted me.’
In his memoir ‘Spare’, Prince Harry claimed Meghan ‘lost’ her father after Mr Markle started speaking to the Press.
Mr Markle (who says he only spoke publicly when private efforts to reach his daughter failed) lived in Rosarito, Mexico, a four-hour drive from the 16-bathroom home Meghan and Harry bought in Montecito, California after they stepped down as senior royals after Megxit.
He suffered a devastating stroke in 2022 which left him unable to speak for weeks and decided to move to the Philippines last year in a bid to avoid constant reminders of his daughter and the grandchildren he longs to see but has never met.
Today he has regained his power of speech which he puts down in great part to speaking all the time to his new love.
He said: ‘After my stroke things were not great. I wanted to go to the other side of the world to a place where the people are kind.
‘The Philippines have a gentler way of life. I never expected to meet Rio and have my life changed in such a wonderful way.’
Watching the pair together this week in the comfortable hotel-style room they share on the 12th floor of the rehab centre in Cebu, it is clear they share a very special bond.
Rio constantly fusses over Mr Markle and the two are openly affectionate and comfortable in each other’s company, laughing frequently and poking fun at each other.
When she holds his hand, as she often does, he beams with genuine delight.
Mr Markle met new love Rio as he recovered from life-threatening surgery to remove his left leg below the knee last December
She has him on a strict no sugar diet and he has lost a lot of weight. She pushes him to drink more water and hides the chocolate I bring him as a gift promising to ratio it to one piece a day as a special treat.
Mr Markle, who is currently suffering from pneumonia, said: ‘I finally feel safe and well-cared for.
‘I’ve got pneumonia but I’m not feeling sorry for myself because I have Rio taking such good care of me.
‘I hardly watch the news. I live in a world where people are kind to each other. The nurses and doctors here in the Philippines are wonderful.
‘People here don’t have all the worldly goods we have in the West but they respect and care for older people.
‘There are young trainee nurses here who we call the ‘munchkins’ and all I hear all day long are peels of laughter.
‘I was sad about Meghan for so long but now I finally feel like I can laugh again. Life is good.’
The retired Hollywood lighting director has two of his three Emmy awards (TV’s Oscars) on display in his room but there are no pictures of Meghan.
I told him I remembered visiting him in Rosarito when he had pictures of Meghan and all his family, plastered across the walls.
‘Yes, family is important, but how long can you live in pain? Sometimes you have to move on. I have moved on.’
He speaks daily to Samantha, his eldest daughter from his first marriage who lives in Florida and suffers from MS, making the lengthy trip to the Philippines impossible for her.
His son Tom Markle Jr. lives 20 minutes away from Mr Markle’s rehab centre and visits once a week,
Both of his eldest children, from his first marriage to Roslyn Loveless (they divorced in 1975 after 11 years of marriage) approve of his relationship with Rio.
As for Rio, she appears devoted to Mr Markle – who she affectionately refers to as ‘Sir Tom’ – but knew nothing of his royal connections when they met.
She said: ‘I met him on the first day he came here, last December 16, as he was being taking off the ambulance from the hospital. He waved at me.
‘I was a bit worried because someone had told me he had a reputation for being grumpy.
‘But I started working with him and he is a total gentleman and someone who is kind and funny.
‘I didn’t know who he was when I met him. Here in the Philippines Meghan and Harry are not a big deal.
‘Mr Markle is a kind man. All the nurses and staff love him. He’s funny.’
Rio, who blushes easily, is reluctant to discuss their romance except to say: ‘I care deeply for him.’
A divorcee, she has a 16-year-old son who is about to graduate high school and wants to be a teacher and a 22-year-old daughter who is at college studying to be a pharmacist.
Mr Markle says he knows some people will be critical and may even poke fun at his late-in-life relationship but ‘it honestly doesn’t matter to me.’
He said: ‘I’ve been through tough times which makes me appreciate the good times.
‘I finally at peace. I was in pain for so many years about what happened with my youngest daughter Meghan.
‘I could never escape the stories online and in magazines and newspapers. I was constantly hounded by paparazzi.
‘Over here I lead a quiet life. I am grateful for my health, for Rio and for the care I am receiving. I love the Philippines and I am enjoying my life.
‘I don’t care what people think any more.
‘I’m an old man and never thought I would be alive at nearly 82.
‘What happened with Rio happened naturally. We got close and she ended up moving in with me.
‘It’s a relationship I treasure. She makes me very happy and takes very good care of me.
‘I hope I make her happy too.’
Mr Markle wants to take Rio on holiday to America once he is well enough.
He does physiotherapy three times a week, is about to start aqua therapy and hopes to be fitted with a prosthetic limb later in the year.
Mr Markle, who worked on two hit shows – General Hospital and Married With Children, said: ’I would love to take Rio to Los Angeles and show her all the places in Hollywood where I worked for so many years.’
Would he drive to Montecito?
He laughs.
‘No, I would never do that. What’s the point?,’ he said.
‘I’d love to see my grandkids. It makes me sad that King Charles has only met Archie and Lilibet once or twice.
‘How strange it is that me, over here in my little world, and him, the King of England, are both in the same boat. We both can’t see our grandkids.
‘I love Meghan. She is my daughter.
‘But I don’t know how much time I have left and I want to spent what time I have being happy. Rio makes me happy.’
As for the question of marriage – could Meghan wake up one day to find she has a Filipino stepmom?
Mr Markle said: ‘I would marry Rio if it was beneficial to her. But it’s not something we’ve discussed.
‘For now we are just enjoying life. I am grateful every morning I wake up and feel safe and cared for.
‘Rio has made me very happy.’
