Praising US legal drama Suits as having been the ‘goldilocks’ of her career, Meghan Markle has continued to share her love for the show that launched her as an actress back in 2011 – five years before she first laid eyes on Prince Harry. 

So when a spin-off of the original show, Suits LA, was announced last year, naturally fans and cast alike were buzzing with the hope that Meghan, who played paralegal Rachel Zane until 2017, would return to make a cameo, with Director Adam Korsh confirming, ‘If Meghan wants to come back under any circumstances, Meghan can come back.’ 

Rumours hit an all-time high when Meghan’s long-term pal and guest on her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, Abigail Spencer teased that she could also make a comeback. But, alas, it wasn’t to be and, when Suits LA dropped on NBC in February, Meghan was a no show. 

Now, after the show was brutally axed last week after just one season amidst bad reviews – with fans describing the spin-off as ‘a confusing disaster’ and an ‘unsexy disappointment’ – a source tells us that there is a feeling of ‘resentment’ towards the now Duchess of Sussex. 

 ‘Obviously there’s a lot of disappointment amongst the cast right now. They feel like it’s a colossal missed opportunity,’ our source shares. ‘The consensus is that if Meghan had wanted to jump in and lend her support it would have made all the difference.

‘That’s a tough pill to swallow, especially now it’s officially cancelled, and a number of the folks attached to the project are feeling pretty resentful towards Meghan.’

Meghan, who now lives in a £21 million Montecito mansion with Harry and their children – Archie, six, and Lilibet, four – spoke out earlier this month about how she lived in a ‘small house’ before landing her dream role on Suits. 

In a discussion with her stylist friend on her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan, 43, recalled, ‘It was a bungalow and you had to walk through my bedroom, past my bed, past the shower and the sink, which were right there and the toilet and then right across from that was the door that opened into my very small closet.’ 

Remembering her audition, she previously added, ‘I had no idea that this late August morning of 2011 would change my life. Suits stole my heart. It’s the Goldilocks of my acting career – where finally I was just right.’ 

Now, being one of the most famous people on the planet after joining the Royal Family in 2018, fans were desperate for a glimpse of Meghan’s ‘pre-Harry’ life, and the show made a surprising return to Netflix in 2023.

The rerun, which was released four years after the final episode in 2019, proved a clever move by the streaming giant, with the sexy legal thriller reaching over 57 billion hours of viewing time and becoming the year’s most popular show.

And now the source says that, for some members of the Suits family, they feel that the revival could have been the perfect time for Meghan to show her thanks. 

 ‘Meghan would not be in the position she is today if Aaron hadn’t cast her in the original show, and people feel it was a bit arrogant of her – not to mention bad karma – to totally turn her back on the franchise that gave her such a huge break,’ our insider says.

‘Aaron turned his whole life upside down to get ‘Suits LA’ written, cast and on the air on a fast-track schedule. There’s a sense that it would have been a gesture of goodwill for Meghan to do Aaron a favour.’

Last year we reported how the Suits LA project was structured around being able to seamlessly accommodate cast members from the original series as guest stars. 

At the time, an insider told us, ‘The entire premise and storyline of ‘Suits LA’ has been designed to exist in the same universe as the original series and of course allow for cast members of that show to pop up in guest roles and storylines within the new series. 

‘That’s already happening with original leading man Gabriel Macht signing up for a guest turn on the series, but the biggest get for the producers is obviously Meghan Markle, and they know it would be a very special event if she came onto their show.’ 

At the time of the show’s production, Meghan had been building on her own personal brand reboot as her popularity continued to plummet amidst her and Harry’s feud with the Royal Family. 

Now, while she continues to face backlash by monetising her royal title, Meghan appears to have found a niche as a domestic goddess-on-a budget-but not-actually-on-a-budget with her Netflix show and new lifestyle brand, ‘As Ever’.

Last year it was also revealed how she hadn’t stayed in touch with most members of the cast, and the source says she made it clear that, while she will always remember her time on Suits fondly, she doesn’t see a return to the show in her future. 

‘The hope was that if the show finished its first season as a hit, and got renewed for the 2025-26 season, Meghan would come around to the idea of appearing, even just in a small surprise cameo,’ they tell us. 

‘But pretty much from the outset she was never interested in returning to that universe or those characters, and that created a bit of a chilling effect around the show. 

‘From her perspective it’s really nonsensical as she’s long since moved on from the show and there was no obligation whatsoever for her to be attached to this spinoff. She feels badly for the cast and crew but doesn’t feel it’s fair for her to be blamed in any way shape or form.’