At last, some good news for Meghan Markle: Her TV producer ex-husband has abandoned, at least for now, plans to create a show based on a man whose ex marries a British prince.
Trevor Engelson and Meghan Markle wed in a lavish beachside ceremony in Jamaica in 2011, but divorced just two years later. According to some reports, the divorce was so acrimonious that Markle, who was living in Toronto filming Suits, sent him the wedding ring back by mail.
It’s been widely reported that Engelson was left “devastated” by his former wife’s actions; and is said to still harbor significant resentment to his ex. “I have zero to say about her,” he has been quoted as saying.
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A source tells the Sun: “He and Meghan are world away from that Hollywood happy divorce declaration of ‘conscious uncoupling’—where people split up, but remain friends like Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow.”
The biographer Andrew Morton wrote in his new book on Meghan, A Hollywood Princess, “It was such a bolt from the blue. Even after five years he can barely contain his anger.”
So there was weary resignation when it emerged that Engelson was, like other family members, apparently trying to cash in on his ex-wife’s growing fame to make a show inspired by his story.
The pilot was pitched to Fox last September, with Engelson reportedly hiring Modern Family Executive Producer Danny Zuker to write.
Now, however, the Sun is reporting that Engelson, 41, is not moving forward with the project after desperate appeals from Meghan and her friends.
However, it may not be just the goodness of his heart motivating him—the Sun reports there is also nervousness that going after Meghan in such a naked fashion could be unpopular and the series might flop.
A senior TV executive, who asked not to be named, told Sun Online: “Trevor’s project is currently on hold after several months of anguish for Meghan.
“She reached out to him at first through friends and now they have kept up the pressure and Trevor has pushed things back.
“The plan was for the series to come out during the aftermath of the royal wedding later this summer, but things have changed.
“Trevor has focused on other projects after having calls and impromptu meets with Meghan and his old social circle
“The couple has barely spoken since their divorce, but she did reach out to him—with Harry’s agreement—to thank him for not telling their story in public.
“There is a feeling too that it is too soon for a TV network to go straight at the new royals given their popularity and it could flop.
“So that too is a factor, as Trevor has still not confirmed yet if he will walk away from the project.”
Engelson is working as executive producer on his second seaason of FX series Snowfall, a new Netflix film 13 Minutes, and a BET documentary called Dream Team, about the U.S. 1992 Olympic basketball champs, the Sun reports.
