Meghan Markle's nephew launches blistering attack on family members

MEGHAN Markle’s nephew Tyler Dooley will soon star in an MTV reality show playing up his connection to his royal aunt — but there are some other members of his famous family he’s keen to distance himself from.

News.com.au spoke to Dooley ahead of the premiere of The Royal World, which sees him holed up in a British country manor with various other vaguely royal oddbods from around the world, including a Nigerian chief and several British aristocrats.

While some could accuse him of cashing in, Dooley, 26, denounced the behaviour of his other aunt, Samantha Markle and his father, Thomas Markle Jr, both of whom have frequently criticised the newest member of the royal family in the press.

He said he was mortified the public was seeing such an ugly side to the Markle family.

“The only people fighting are fighting against themselves, and it’s Samantha and Thomas Markle Jr,” Dooley said.

“The person not fighting back is Meghan: She has no time for that, and she’s so much better than that. It’s embarrassing what that part of the family’s doing. There’s a reason I go by Dooley instead of my legal last name of Markle: They’re toxic. What they’re doing is just embarrassing.”

Only yesterday, Samantha accused Meghan of being a liar after the Duchess of Sussex claimed in a speech that she paid her own university fees. Samantha called her half-sister “delusionally absurd”.

Thomas Markle Jr had previously told the press that “being a celebrity has changed (Meghan)”. “Maybe she feels she is above everybody, maybe even more now,” he said.

Dooley said he was struggling to see the motive behind the constant public attacks.

“It’s really hard to see members of the family lashing out for no reason. I’m not sure what the driving force is — if it’s money, if it’s jealousy … They’ll never get to take back what they’re saying. It’s always going to be on record. And you just don’t say that about your family.

“The fact is, my father and my aunt are not nice people. They’re not kind and they’re toxic, and that’s just a fact. I’d really hope they would stop talking about Meghan and just move on with their lives.”

In contrast, Dooley is glowing in his praise for his famous aunt — who he says was “always destined for great things”.

“I was just as excited when she landed her first role on Deal or No Deal! I was in shock then. She went to Suits, and that was my favourite show — I got to brag to my friends growing up, ‘Look at my aunt, she’s on Suits.’

“Next thing you know, I find out she’s dating Prince Harry. For her to progress into royalty … I always knew she was destined to change the world. It’s mind-blowing: Her face is on the cover of every magazine. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”

Dooley said he wanted to appear in The Royal World to show a more positive side to Meghan’s family, and to better understand what her life is like now.

“There’s so many tasks and responsibilities … You have to live every moment of your life with grace,” he told news.com.au. “I didn’t really understand that before — but obviously she’s up for the challenge. She wants to change the world, and I know (royalty) gives her a platform to do good things.”

And while he admits he hasn’t seen his aunt for a long time, he’s still hopeful to reconnect with her in the future.

“I don’t feel like I’ve lost her to the royal family,” Dooley said. “I still look up to her and she’s still a huge inspiration to me, but she has huge responsibilities now, more than most people probably realise. I don’t expect anything of her at all: She doesn’t owe anybody anything.”

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