"I’ll be on food stamps before I do that"
The Duchess of Sussex is no stranger to tabloid stories, however she took the time to personally thank a friend after he was allegedly offered a bribe by several outlets. Speaking in an interview with The Guardian, a former co-star on the show Cuts revealed he had been offered $70,000 to claim he had “slept” with Meghan Markle – an offer he turned down.
Simon Rex, who stars in the upcoming film Red Rocket, acted alongside Markle on a single episode of Cuts in 2005. He explained they had only gone for a friendly lunch together, but later The Guardian claimed “several UK tabloids” offered him a hefty bribe to claim they had had an intimate relationship.
While Rex admitted he was “broke as f**k” at the time, he said, “I really needed the money. But I’ll be on food stamps before I do that.”
From Meghan’s half-sister Samantha Markle to her former high school teachers, many people from Meghan's past have come forward and shared their experiences with the Suits star. However, she thanked Rex for his discretion with a hand-written thank you letter which he later framed and hung in his home.
Rex recalled, “She said: ‘It’s nice to know there are still good people.’”
Rex isn't the only actor to have stepped up and supported Meghan over her high profile marriage to Prince Harry, with her former Suits star Patrick J. Adams regularly defending Meghan on social media. Last March, Adams said she "remained" the "enthusiastic, kind, cooperative, giving, joyful and supportive" person he worked with on the sitcom and said he was "sickened" by her treatment in the press.
He tweeted, "Find someone else to admonish, berate and torment. My friend Meghan is way out of your league."
Meghan and Prince Harry’s relationship with the press has been full of highs and lows, with lawsuits, an interview with Oprah Winfrey and more centering around the couple’s lives. Since stepping down as senior royals in 2020, they left the UK and moved to Meghan’s home state California. They live in Montecito with their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, who is currently two years old, and welcomed their daughter Lilibet Diana last year.
The couple shared a family photo last Christmas along with a special message, which read, “Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa,’ and Lili made us a family.”
