Thomas Markle has found love again — and the details are raising royal eyebrows.
Meghan Markle‘s dad, 81, has embarked on a new romance with Rio Canedo, a 46-year-old Filipina nurse who is 35 years his junior — and just two years older than Meghan herself.
That technically makes Rio the Duchess of Sussex’s new stepmother. Though the pair are closer in age to sisters.
Thomas has never remarried since he and Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland, split when the Duchess was just five years old — and Meghan and her father have been estranged since her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry.
Thomas has never met Harry, or his grandchildren, Prince Archie, six, or four-year-old Princess Lilibet.
The new lovers met in unexpected circumstances.
Thomas, who moved to Cebu in the Philippines with son Tom Jr, 59, in January 2025, was hospitalised last December after doctors were forced to amputate his left lower leg following a massive blood clot.
Rio was working at the rehabilitation hospital where Thomas was recovering, and had no idea who he was when they first met.
Thomas has spoken candidly about finding happiness again after years of heartache.
“I never expected to find joy and happiness again at my age. I felt neglected and sad for so many years, but now I am enjoying life again,” he told the Daily Mail.
“After so many tough times, I feel truly blessed to have found someone very special who takes such good care of me.”
Rio, a mother of two grown children, is said to be equally smitten.
The news of Meghan’s dad’s new romance comes as the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry prepare to visit Australia in mid-April — their first trip Down Under in seven years.
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