Long before we became accustomed to seeing Meghan Markle step out in an array of elegant royal outfits, arm in arm with Prince Harry and pursuing things other than her beloved television show Suits, the Duchess of Sussex lived a very different life to the one she has now.
Before her fairytale romance with her now husband Prince Harry, the 36-year-old was married to producer Trevor Engelson.
Here’s everything you need to know about Markle’s ex:
When did he get remarried?
Meghan Markle's ex-husband, film producer Trevor Engelson, has married his longtime girlfriend nutritionist Tracey Kurland.
Over the weekend of 6 and 7 October, Engleson married the 32-year-old daughter of multi-millionaire banker, Stanford Kurland, in a low-key ceremony at a private home in the Hidden Hills in Southern California, reports the Daily Mail.
'Luckiest guy I know,' the filmmaker reportedly captioned a celebratory Instagram announcing the news on his private account. 'Get ready to party!'
In social media pictures shared from the couple's nuptials, which have now been taken down, the bride wore an off-the-shoulder, mid-calf white dress, while the groom dressed in a grey suit with a pink shirt and no tie.
The couple began dating in November 2017.
Where’s he from?
Trevor was born in Great Neck, New York on 23 October 1976. He is five years old than Meghan - aged 41 - and attended the prestigious University of Southern California's School of Communication where he later began working as a production assistant.
What does he do for a living?
The Hollywood film producer is best known for his film Remember Me, starring Robert Pattinson, the Mandy Moore-John Krasinski rom-com License to Wed and All About Steve starring Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. More recently, he's been named as a producer on the FX crime series Snowfall.
Following Meghan and Harry’s engagement, it was widely reported Trevor was planning to produce a ‘divorce comedy’ for a fictional Fox show, ‘loosely’ based on his relationship with his ex-wife.
‘Divorce is hard ... 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,’ the Daily Star described the series.
However, new reports suggest the network ditched the idea before it even began filming. ‘Trevor’s project is currently on hold after several months of anguish for Meghan,’ an unnamed senior TV executive told the Sun.
‘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.’
When did Trevor and Meghan start dating?
The couple began dating in 2004 and announced their engagement six years later. On 10 September 2011, the couple said ‘I do’ at a four day long wedding extravaganza in front of 100 guests in Jamaica.
The pair married at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios and guests reportedly enjoyed a cocktail night, brunch, and barbecue with ‘local beer, rum punches, and human wheelbarrow races along the white-sand beach,’ per the Daily Mail.
For her big day, Markle was rumoured to have worn a strapless white gown while her then-husband sported a white button-down shirt.
Why did they divorce?
Just before their wedding, Markle found out she had landed her breakthrough role on Suits and quickly had to move from Los Angeles to Toronto where the show is filmed. While the reason for the split remains unknown, sources have claimed long-distance relationship at the beginning of the marriage was a major issue.
As a result, the couple divorced in August 2013, citing irreconcilable differences.
How did they split?
According to an early excerpt from Andrew Morton's biography of the Duchess Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, the split came as a complete surprise to the TV producer.
‘A wealthy entrepreneur friend claimed the marriage ended so abruptly that Meghan sent her wedding and engagement rings back to Trevor by registered post,’ Morton writes. ‘Another confirmed that the decision to end the marriage was made by Meghan and that it had come “totally out of the blue”.’
Is he dating anyone?
A year after his divorce from Meghan, it was reported the media mogul was dating Baywatch star Charlotte McKinney. He has also since been linked to reality star Bethenny Frankel.
‘I met him in Chicago and we were supposed to go out, and I ended up seeing him one time and he’d been texting me,’ Frankel told Us Weekly. ‘He’s a producer in L.A. He told me that he was married before. He’s divorced [now]. He was married to this girl named Meghan Markle from the TV show Suits.’
However, he later began dating nutritionist Tracey Kurland and got down on one knee to the star on 1 June in Napa, California, according to Us Weekly.
‘Luckiest guy I know,’ Engelson reportedly captioned a private Instagram post of him and Tracey resting her diamond ring on his shoulder the engagement. ‘Get ready to party!’
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
