Bethenny Frankel still laughs when she thinks back to the moment she realized her casual acquaintance—film producer Trevor Engelson—had once been married to a woman who was about to make global headlines.
Back in 2016, when she first met him, she knew nothing about Suits, nothing about Meghan Markle, and certainly nothing about the royal romance that was about to take shape.
What she does remember clearly, though, is Trevor’s confidence about where Meghan’s budding relationship with Prince Harry was heading.
Trevor’s Quiet Certainty About a Royal Future
As Bethenny tells it, Trevor didn’t hesitate when she jokingly asked if he thought his ex-girlfriend was really going to “close”—meaning seal the deal with Harry.
According to her, his response was instant: “Oh, she’ll close.”
Not maybe. Not possibly. He sounded sure—almost matter-of-fact.
Bethenny says she didn’t pry into how he knew, but his tone left an impression.
And of course, he was right. Less than two years later, Meghan walked down the aisle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, becoming the Duchess of Sussex.
The Backstory of a Hollywood Marriage
Meghan and Trevor weren’t strangers thrown together by fame.
They dated for years, starting in 2004, before finally marrying in 2011.
But by 2013 they were separated, and a year later they finalized an uncomplicated, no-fault divorce.
The split was often described as driven by Hollywood pressures, something Meghan’s half-brother publicly echoed at the time.
It was even reported that she simply mailed her wedding ring back to Trevor—something Bethenny didn’t mention, but which has been widely noted in past coverage.
A Surprising Text on the Eve of a Royal Wedding
Bethenny admitted she couldn’t resist sending Trevor a message the night before Britain turned its eyes to Windsor Castle.
Her text—blunt, amused, and very Bethenny—read: “Holy s**t, your ex is going to be a princess.”
By then, Trevor had moved on with his life.
He’s now remarried to Tracey Kurland, the two of them living privately and happily far from the royal circus.
A Friendship Built on Projects, Not Romance
Bethenny and Trevor have long made clear that whatever spark existed when they first met never turned into anything more than friendly chemistry.
They met in Chicago’s Soho House, exchanged flirty texts, and later reconnected in Los Angeles… but their dynamic eventually shifted from personal to professional.
Trevor pitched her a show idea about female entrepreneurs, and the two began discussing developing it together.
Bethenny described the partnership as having a “little sizzle,” but nothing physical ever happened.
“He looks a little like my ex, which scares me,” she once joked.
But the collaboration stuck—and that’s the context in which she learned more about his past life with Meghan.
Reflecting on Meghan, the Royals, and a Deleted Photo Mystery
During a recent appearance on The Toast podcast, Bethenny didn’t stop at retelling her Trevor anecdotes.
She also weighed in on a recent photo-gate situation involving Harry and Meghan attending Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party—photos that briefly appeared online before vanishing.
Bethenny claimed, without hesitation, that the Sussexes asked for the images to be pulled.
Her theory? They didn’t want the public to see them “hobnobbing with the Kardashians.”
And in her view, Meghan’s public persona reflects someone “trying to be so many different things” at once.
It isn’t the first time Bethenny has criticized the pair.
After their Oprah interview, she famously fired off a tweet dripping with sarcasm about their complaints, suggesting their hardships weren’t exactly relatable.
A Hollywood Connection That Feels Stranger in Hindsight
Looking back, Bethenny says she didn’t think much of Trevor’s past marriage when he first mentioned it.
He told her he had once been married “to this girl called Meghan Markle from the show Suits,” and Bethenny shrugged. It meant nothing to her then.
But months later—seeing headlines about Prince Harry dating an American actress—she pieced it together.
Her reaction was instant: “Holy s**t, that’s your ex.”
Trevor simply confirmed it: “Yup.”
It’s an odd little footnote in the giant saga of Meghan’s life—one Bethenny still finds surreal even years later.
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