Considering that the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is but a distant memory in the minds of Brits and Americans alike, you'd assume that all the gossip surrounding the former Suits actress' family would have cooled off by now - right?
Wrong.
Even though the hullaballoo of the big day is well and truly over, Meghan's father and half-siblings are still cropping up to make some comment about her recent union to the British prince. First, there was the revelation that her brother - Thomas Markle Jr. - had flown to England for the wedding, but stayed in London while the ceremony took place in Windsor. Then, Meghan's sister - Samantha Markle - came forward to complain about not being invited, and also take a few digs at the new Duchess of Sussex's coat of arms.
And now, after months of bad press, Thomas Markle Sr. has come forward to make a statement about supposedly asking his daughter for money.
The rumours that Markle Sr. had asked Meghan for money began circulating after his son (Meghan's half-brother), sent an open letter to Prince Harry, in which he detailed the apparent relationship between the actress and her family.
He wrote:
"What kind of person starts out by using her own father until he's bankrupt, then forgets about him in Mexico leaving him broke, over mostly all her debts. And when it's time to pay him back she forgets her own father like she never knew him.
"My father will never recover financially from paying Meghan's way, nor emotionally from disavowing him, Meg is showing her true colors."
Whether or not that's true is unclear, but one thing's for sure: Thomas Sr. denies that he has ever asked for a penny from his daughter.
In an interview with TMZ, Thomas Sr. said - quite bluntly - that the rumour was, "just plain bull***t". In fact, he added, he has a decent enough retirement fund and therefore doesn't feel like he needs any help. Even if he did, he said, he knows that Meghan would help him out without him having to ask.
During the interview, Thomas Sr. also commented on his health, saying that he has been steadily recovering in the weeks following his heart surgery.
This was, of course, the reason he missed his daughter's wedding.
He didn't seem too bitter about having to skip the ceremony, though, and actually put out a supportive message after the big day was over.
"Now I pray that Harry and Meghan can go on a nice honeymoon and rest and relax, and all of my relatives will just shut up about everything," he said;
"The service was beautiful and it’s history. I will always regret not being able to be there and not being able to hold my daughter’s hand. My baby girl is a duchess and I love her so much. When you watch your child get married, every thought goes through your mind, every memory from the first day she was born, the first time I held her."
So, if Thomas Sr.'s words are anything to go by, it appears that the two are actually on much better terms than we originally thought. Let's hope they keep it up.