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Meghan Markle showed up in full support of her close friend, and Hollywood producer, Tyler Perry in a rare public appearance.
Tyler, 55, is a wealthy Hollywood multi-hyphenate who rose to prominence after creating the Madea francise.
Since then he has been the mastermind behind 24 feature films, 20 stage plays and 17 TV shows including Mea Culpa, Good Deeds and Sistas as well as starring in several projects like Gone Girl.
In 2019, he opened Tyler Perry Studios, a 330 acre property and production facility in the heart of Atlanta. In all he has amassed an eye-watering net worth of $1.4billion (£1.1b), per Forbes.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, was in attendance at the Paley Honors Fall Gala in Los Angeles with Tyler where he was honoured for his achievements in the media.
Now thicker than thieves, the duo had an unconventional start to their long-lasting friendship so here’s everything you need to know.
Meghan Markle and Tyler Perry have built a close friendship over the years (Picture: JC Olivera/Shutterstock)
Did Tyler Perry attend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding?
No, Tyler Perry did not attend the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s star studded 2018 wedding.
Although plenty of celebrities did fly in for the big ocassion, including Meghan’s Suits co-stars, Idris Elba, Oprah and Serena Williams, at this point Meghan and Tyler did not know each other personally.
Tyler, however, had been closely following the turbulent media coverage in the lead up to the wedding, especially surrounding her estrangement from her father, Thomas Markle.
As he recounted to podcast host Kelly Ripa, he got the ‘tremendous sense’ things were ‘overwhelming’ for the actor turned royal so he decided to contact her.
He also clarified it was not their mutual friend Oprah who introduced them but rather he reached out to her through an old publicist the pair had shared.
Later, in Netflix’s six-part Harry & Meghan documentary, Tyler added: ‘When my life changed and success started to come, family members became different people.
‘And I know how hurtful and horrible it can be. I immediately empathised with her. This was before the wedding.
”And I sent her a note, just praying for her just to be able to move through it and hold on, and let her know that everything in her life had prepared her for this moment, or so I thought.’
The pair first got in touch when Tyler sent a note before her wedding (Picture: JC Olivera/Shutterstock)
Meghan decided to call Tyler and ended up ‘crying’ to him on the phone (Picture: Netflix)
How did Tyler Perry and Meghan Markle meet?
It was months after Tyler had told them he was here for them that Meghan tookhim up on the offer, adding to Kelly: ‘She called months later and just talked to me like I was a therapist and we just had a great conversation.’
Meghan shared her perspective of their first phone call, adding: ‘Finally, after years at that point, first time we ever spoke, and I was just a wreck, I was just crying and crying.
‘Sometimes it’s just easier to open up to someone who knows nothing at all. And that was that moment with me and Tyler.’
And Tyler had harsh words for the Royal institution, saying: ‘To use the institution to try and do all the things a batterer would do, like “here’s what we’re going to do, we’re gonna cut off the money. We’re gonna not leave you security. We’re gonna do all those things to make you comply and come back.”
‘And for the both of them to have the wherewithal to say “I don’t give a damn if it’s the palace. I’m out of here.” I applauded that.’
How did Tyler Perry help when Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left the UK?
In January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan stepped back from Royal duties and moved from the UK to Canada but soon ran into trouble after their location became widely known with limited ‘security’ provisions.
There was also concern that the borders would imminently close due to the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving them trapped.
The couple turned to Tyler for help after leaving the UK (Picture: Netflix)
They lived in his LA home for six weeks (Picture: Netflix)
As told in the 2021 interview with Oprah, that’s when the media mogul stepped in.
‘We didn’t have a plan,’ Meghan explained. ‘We needed a house and he [Tyler Perry] offered his security as well, so it gave us breathing room to try to figure out what we were going to do.’
Despite having never met Tyler in person, the couple decided to up and move to his $15million (£11.7m) mansion in Beverly Hills with their son Archie where they stayed for six ‘blissful’ weeks.
‘Every day. Every day that they were there, I looked to see if anything’s happening online. Nothing,’ Tyler said in an interview about whether the press had caught on to their new location.
‘They don’t even know, so weeks and weeks they were there. They were so happy. It was such a beautiful moment.’ Archie even had his first steps there.
Eventually, Meghan and Harry decided to settle down in Montecito, California.
The couple made Tyler the godfather to their child Lilibet (Picture: AP)
Meghan and Tyler’s continued friendship
Since then, Tyler has remained close with the growing family and gifted them a grand piano as a housewarming gift, per The Cut.
In the Netflix docuseries recalled being asked to be their second child, Lilibet’s, godfather.
‘They were pretty serious on the phone and I go, “Okay, what’s going on?” They said, “Well, we’d like for you to be Lili’s godfather.” I go, “Whoa.” I had to take a minute to take that in.
‘And I thought, “I’d be honored. I’d be absolutely honored.”‘ he said. He later attended an intimate at-home christening.
The trio are regularly seen together nowadays. In September, Harry and Meghan also attended Tyler’s birthday bash.
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Inside Meghan Markle’s lasting friendship with Hollywood A-lister worth $1,400,000,000