Entertainment

Royal Family Fans, The Plot Of This New Show Will Raise Your Eyebrows

by Allie Gemmill
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

She's keeping a relatively low profile these days, but as Suits actor Meghan Markle gets more involved with boyfriend, Prince Harry, it's only natural that public curiosity about her will intensify. And given that Markle's royal romance may have inspired a TV show, there's definitely no reason to believe that public interest is dying down anytime soon. According to Deadline, Markle's ex-husband, Trevor Engelson, is developing a TV show about a divorcée dating a royal, and juggling the duties of motherhood and life as she enters unknown royal territory. Here's how the site describes the show:

"Divorce is hard. Sharing custody is harder. Sharing custody with the British Royal family when your wife marries a prince, in the unforgiving spotlight of London’s tabloid media, is next level."

It's certainly an intriguing plot, but given Engelson's own history with Markle, and the fact that he's now tied to a show with a plot so eerily similar to Markle's life post-divorce (despite the fact that she doesn't have any kids in real life), Engelson's reasons — possibly deeply personal — for developing this project get more intriguing by the minute.

Engelson has yet to publicly comment on the exact inspiration of the show, but Deadline shared an anecdote about how the series plot reportedly originated after Engelson joked with a fellow producer about what life would've been like if he and Markle had children, and he then had to share custody with the royal family.

However, it's worth noting that, at this time, there's no public comment from Markle about this news. This could mean a few things: either Markle knows about the show and is choosing not to comment; she may be working on the show with Engelson, hence the incredible similarities to her own life; or, she may not be aware of the project at all, hence no comment (although given her proximity to the situation, this feels unlikely).

The striking similarities between Markle's real-life romance with Prince Harry and this TV show do give rise to speculation, for sure, but perhaps it's simply a case of life being too grand that it demands art imitate it. From the public perspective, Markle's romantic life is certainly intriguing. With rumors constantly swirling about a possible engagement and her giving us rare, brief glimpses into her personal life, it's no wonder that television would imagine what life could be like for a woman in her situation. What is surprising is that this TV show has someone directly tied to Markle tied to it as well. Something feels a little off about this entire thing.

For the record, Markle and Engelson were married for two years. Following a dreamy wedding on an Jamaican beach, the pair cited irreconcilable difference when they split in 2013, according to The Daily Mail. Although it's unclear what those differences were, the pair met in 2004 as they were respectively getting their starts in Hollywood. They were reportedly together for seven years when, shortly before getting married, Markle landed her Suits gig and wound up commuting between Los Angeles and Toronto, where the show filmed. It's speculated by The Daily Mail (so take that with a grain of salt) that the toll of a long-distance relationship continued to weigh on the couple, and different career trajectories may have led to their split.

Nowadays, both Engelson and Markle rarely comment publicly about their marriage, which is exactly why seeing Engelson attached to this TV project is interesting and a bit surprising. It's neither a confirmation or denial of how Engelson feels about Markle's life currently, nor is it a confirmation or denial that Markle is OK with this show taking place.

All that can be said for certain is that this is a project that's worth keeping an eye on as it develops. Deadline's report hints that it has the potential to be a comedy (especially since a Modern Family executive producer is involved), so if Markle's life does in any way serve as the basis for the show, it might at least be a lighthearted take. Let's keep our fingers crossed that that's the case here.