Author Claims Meghan Was Still Living With Her Celebrity Ex When She Met Harry: 'Their Affair...'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Waves for Change, an NGO, at Monwabisi Beach.
April 18 2025, Published 9:40 a.m. ET
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been happily married since 2018 and are proud parents to two adorable children. The couple met on a blind date in 2016. Interestingly, at the time, Markle was allegedly still living with her ex, Cory Vitiello. Royal author Tom Bower revealed that she viciously dumped celebrity chef Vitiello soon after meeting the Prince.
Markle was reportedly seeking a new romance on one of her planned visits to Britain. As reported by Newsweek, Bower in his book Revenge: Harry, Meghan and the war between the Windsors, revealed, “Together they rented a three-bedroomed home in the city's Annex district.” He detailed that after her first date with Harry was a success, two weeks later, the Prince 'secretly flew to Toronto.' Bower wrote, "He [Harry] stayed for about one week in the house of a friend of Meghan's, probably Jessica Mulroney...With Cory [Vitiello] still sharing her home, the situation for Meghan was tricky but manageable.”
The author added that after the Prince returned to London, Markle made up her mind to dump her ex for him. Bower penned, “Meghan was convinced that her spell was cast and the relationship with Harry would be sealed. She told Cory that their affair was over.” Bower cited the woman who set the Sussexes up on a blind date as Violet von Westenholz, the daughter of a close friend of King Charles III. He revealed that Harry and Markle bonded over their shared passion for humanitarian work and philanthropy on their date.
The pair got engaged shortly after in November 2017. In a sit-down engagement interview with the BBC, Markle shared, “One of the first things we started talking about when we met was just the different things we wanted to do in the world and how passionate we were about seeing change.” In the interview, the Prince also gushed about how he knew she 'was the one' during the very first time they met.
While Bower accused Markle of being unfaithful to her ex for Harry, the Prince was also later rumored to have cheated on her. Royal author Angela Levin spilled the beans in her book, Harry: Conversations with the Prince, that the Duke was involved with model Sarah Ann Macklin during his first few dates with Markle. She told the Daily Express, “They met at a private party, and he did everything he could to get her phone number. Then, he bombarded her with text messages.” She claimed that Harry saw the model several times, despite already being linked to Markle. However, their connection reportedly ended because of their polar opposite lifestyles.