Jessica Mulroney was once Meghan Markle's closest friend - but it seems she has now been kicked out of the inner circle.
The former Suits actress became pals with the Canadian fashion stylist while they were shooting in Toronto - to the point where they were practically inseparable.
All three of Jessica's children had important roles at Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry and she accompanied her bestie on a royal tour in an unofficial capacity.
However, the cracks in their friendship started to show when Jessica was embroiled in a race row - and dragged Meghan into the controversy.
Jessica was fired from TV gigs, lost her reality show and seemingly her friendship with Meghan - but she recently broke her silence.
Best pals
Meghan and Jessica's friendship blossomed while she was working on Suits - and the fashion designed helped choose her character Rachel's wedding dress.
They jetted off on many girls trips, including one where Jessica captioned a snap of them as: "Happy wife happy life #fakehoneymoon. #MJxItaly"
When Harry and Meghan made their first public appearance as a couple at the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017, Jessica let them stay at her home.
And her family had crucial roles at Meghan and Harry's wedding in 2018, as Jessica's seven-year-old twin sons were page boys who helped carry her dress.
Jessica, who is married to Canadian producer and former TV host Ben Mulroney, was believed to be Meghan's 'unofficial maid of honour' and daughter Ivy was a bridesmaid.
"Proud friend. Proud mom," wrote Jessica alongside a pic on Instagram.
It was reported that Jessica would be accompanying the royal couple on their first royal tour through Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
She was also on the guest list at Meghan's baby shower in New York City in 2019 along with Amal Clooney and Serena Williams.
Race row
It's though the pair first became distant in 2020, when Jessica was called out by lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter for displaying "textbook white privilege" within the fashion blogging community.
Sasha claimed Jessica "took offence" to her call for bloggers and social influencers to speak out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The social media star, a former athlete who now runs the SoSasha website, claimed Mulroney then sent her a message which seemingly threatened to destroy her career.
In an 11-minute Instagram video, Exeter said: "What happened next was a series of very problematic behaviour and antics that ultimately resulted in [Mulroney] sending me a threat in writing last Wednesday 3 June."
Jessica later issued a public apology, stating: "I want to say from my heart that every word of my apologies to Sasha over the course of the last two weeks privately, and again both publicly and privately today is true."
She appeared to make a reference to Meghan by adding: "As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre.
"It was deeply educational. I learned a lot from that. I promise to continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support black voices."
Distancing themselves
Jessica's career started to crumble as she was was fired from the CTV programme I Do, Redo and ABC's Good Morning America ended their relationship with her.
While Canadian department store Hudson’s Bay announced that it had fired Mulroney as its fashion and bridal specialist.
A source later told US Weekly that her friendship with the duchess was on thin ice.
"Meghan could not get over that Jessica brought up her relationship with Meghan when she commented about her 'closest friend' in the discourse with Sasha," the insider added in June 2020.
However, a source told Page Six that Meghan was already starting to distance herself from the stylist as the Duchess was unimpressed with Jessica using their friendship to boost her career.
In June 2020, the Insider said: "The white privilege row has really given Meghan the excuse she was waiting for to cut Jess off for good.
"I don't know what the tipping point was, but Jess has been on the outs for some time.
"Their friendship is definitely not what it was. And really, how can you have such a close friendship when one person is basically making a career out of the friendship?"
Back together?
Mulroney showed support for Meghan in March 2021 after the duchess was accused of bullying former palace aides.
"I don't know that anyone has ever had to deal with the pressure, the politics and the press like this woman," the wedding stylist wrote via Instagram, alongside a throwback snap of the pals.
"In the face of it all, I have never seen her waver from kindness, empathy and love."
When Jessica celebrated her 41st birthday in March 2021, she shared a glimpse of flowers sent by Meghan.
"LUCKIEST FRIEND XXXX, THX MM," the stylist wrote on her Instagram Story.
Fans were convinced the pair hit another rough patch in June 2021 when Mulroney reposted a quote about losing close friends to her Instagram Story.
"Life changes. You lose love. You lose friends. You lose pieces of yourself that you never imagined would be gone," the passage read.
"And then, without even realizing it, those pieces come back. New love enters. Better friends come along. And a stronger, wiser you, is staring back in the mirror."
But in May that year, Meghan was left out of Jessica's Instagram post celebrating her 'best girlfriends'.
Netflix documentary
Jessica also shared a cryptic post ahead of the documentary airing as a trailer for the Netflix series dropped.
She shared a post on the day of the release which read: "Best thing I ever did was learn how to move without the crowd."
In the second episode of the documentary series, footage of a video call between Jessica and Meghan featured.
The moment saw Meghan filming the setting where Harry popped the question as she said: "Oh my God Jess, it's happening. He told me not to peek."
It is thought the Jess who was mentioned by Meghan in the docuseries is her former stylist pal.
Following its release, Jessica appeared to avoid posting on social media for a while.
Jessica breaks silence
Jessica has since kept quiet about her relationship with Meghan, but broke her silence as she shared a photo on Instagram from the couple's wedding.
The stylist shared the black and white snap of herself alongside Suits actress Abigail Spencer and other guests at the wedding reception.
Jessica's photo is the same snap shared in the Duke and Duchess' Netflix documentary where the pair discussed their wedding.
Cryptically, Jessica did not leave a caption with the Instagram share and opted to turn the comments off, too.
The move is Jessica's first public acknowledgement of Meghan and Harry's documentary.
Despite her close association with the couple, she is not mentioned at all in Harry's autobiography, Spare.
Buckingham and Kensington Palaces have refused to comment on the contents of the book, which hit the shelves on Tuesday.
Spare has been released at all book stores and can be bought online here.
What are your thoughts on Harry's new book? Have your say in the comment section below.
