From the moment her romance with Prince Harry brought her into the global spotlight, Meghan Markle’s strained relationship with her father has been a constant source of fascination for the international tabloid press.
Thomas did not attend Meghan and Harry’s wedding, and when pressed on his reasons for skipping the ceremony, he claimed that he suffered a heart attack.
Some accused him of faking the emergency, while others blamed Meghan for causing her father such profound stress that he needed to be hospitalized.
Now, a similar debate is playing out following news that Thomas has suffered a stroke.
According to TMZ, the latest health scare took place in Tijuana.
The site reports that the 77-year-old retired lighting director was rushed to a hospital in Chula Vista, California where he is still receiving treatment.
Thomas has not offered any update on his condition, but sources close to Meghan’s father say that he’s resting comfortably.
“Peace and rest is best,” said Samantha Markle, son of Thomas and half-sister of Meghan.
At the time of the emergency, Thomas was in the presence of his friend and podcast co-host, a man named Karl Larsen.
“He couldn’t talk and then he wrote down that he lost his voice and that he was having a stroke,” Larsen told Us Weekly about the health scare.
“A neighbor rushed him to Rosarito hospital and then he was transferred to a hospital in Chula Vista across the border. This was last night. The neighbor was with him.”
Larsen told the outlet that he and Thomas launched their podcast with the goal of mending Thomas’ relationship with his daughter.
He claimed that Thomas hoped the project would “get the two of them together” and that “Meghan is still mad at him for taking PR photos from four years ago.”
However, Karl concedes that Thomas’ plans to attend the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next month were not cleared with Meghan, and there “was never a plan for the two of them to meet.”
Of course, Meghan’s beef with Thomas goes far beyond his decision to pose for a few staged paparazzi pics.
Thomas sold Meghan’s private letters to the media, and he’s made a career out of bashing her in the press.
Samantha has profited from a similar grift, and not surprisingly, she gave an interview this week in which she gleefully blamed Meghan for her father’s latest health issues.
"My father is recovering in hospital. We ask for privacy for the family, for his health and wellbeing," Samantha told The Daily Mail this week before turning her attention toward Meghan.
"It’s a travesty how much he’s been tortured and how much he’s had to go through thanks to my sister’s disregard the past few years. That is unforgivable."
In a recent interview with Good Morning Britain, Thomas revealed that he has not spoken with Meghan since his previous coronary event.
“The last time we spoke — actually, we didn’t speak, we actually texted each other — I was laying in a hospital bed after having a heart attack,” he said.
“I had to tell them that I couldn’t come to the wedding. At that point, we had pretty much said goodbye.”
Thomas says he then spoke with Harry who was “kind of snotty, so I hung up on him," adding, "And that’s the last conversation we ever had.”
Thomas’ plans to attend the Jubilee seem to have been rooted in a desire to make the celebration awkward and uncomfortable for Meghan.
Now, however, it seems unlikely that he’ll be able to make the trip.
We wish Thomas a full and speedy recovery.