Jessica Mulroney has shared a throwback snap of one of her twin sons at Meghan Markle’s wedding – after dismissing rumors the two women have fallen out.
The 40-year-old stylist, from Canada, added a wistful caption to the sweet image on Instagram, writing: ‘When I feel dark and grey, I see this and it all goes away.’
She later amended the caption, changing it to: ‘I see this and pure joy.’
Mother-of-three Jessica returned to the social media platform on August 11 after a two-month break in the wake of a bitter race row; black influencer Sasha Exeter accused her of ‘threatening her livelihood’ after ‘taking offense’ at a Black Lives Matter video posted by the online star.
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, was reported to have cut ties with Jessica in the wake of the racism controversy, with a source telling the DailyMail.com she was left ‘mortified’ by the scandal and informed her close friends she felt she could ‘no longer be associated’ with her.
Jessica Mulroney has shared a throwback snap of one of her twin sons, Brian, at Meghan Markle’s wedding
The 40-year-old stylist added a wistful caption to the sweet image, writing: ‘When I feel dark and grey, I see this and it all goes away’
Jessica later amended the caption of her Instagram post, changing it to: ‘I see this and pure joy’
‘Meghan is absolutely mortified that she’s been dragged into this complete mess. She said Jessica is in no way a racist, but the way she handled the situation [with Sasha] was tone-deaf and heartbreaking,’ a close friend of Meghan’s said at the time.
‘Meghan said friends reflect friends and because of what’s at stake she can no longer be associated with Jessica, at least not in public.
‘She has to do what she has to do in order to preserve her dignity and her own reputation,’ the source added, admitting that they ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if the controversy was the ‘beginning of the end of their friendship’.
But earlier this month Jessica shut down the rumors, branding a commenter’s suggestion on one of her posts that she had been ‘dumped’ by Meghan ‘fake news’.
This post today appears to be a further attempt from Jessica to show she remains good friends with the former actress – who now lives with Prince Harry, 35, in Santa Barbara.
The Duchess of Sussex, 39, was reported to have cut ties with Jessica (pictured together in 2016) in the wake of the racism storm that engulfed her, but Jessica has since shut down the rumors
Jessica recently credited her sons for ‘giving her the will to live when everything fell apart’ in a post shared to mark their tenth birthday
Jessica’s twins John and Brian, now 10, served as page boys at the Royal Wedding in May 2018, and the sweet image showed a toothless Brian grinning wildly as he stood behind ‘Aunt Meghan’ as she entered St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
The stylist and influencer recently credited her sons for ‘giving her the will to live when everything fell apart’ in a post shared to mark their tenth birthday.
Jessica took a break from social media after influencer Sasha Exeter claimed she ‘threatened her livelihood’ after they became embroiled in an argument over race
Finding Freedom, the explosive biography about the Sussexes written by journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, recently shed light on the history of Jessica’s friendship with the Duchess.
It told how Meghan and Harry spent time with the Mulroneys, part of the Canadian political dynasty, before their relationship was made public in 2016, and ‘hid out’ at the family home when the news first broke.
It was there, the authors claim, that Meghan ‘fell hard’ for her now-husband after getting a ‘first-hand glimpse of how Harry might be as a father’.
Jessica’s friendship with Meghan was not the only aspect of her life that suffered as a result of the recent controversy.
Having quickly shot to fame thanks to her close friendship with the Duchess of Sussex, Jessica’s fall from grace was even swifter.
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that ABC had quickly severed ties with her, confirming that Jessica would not be returning to her occasional role as a fashion contributor on Good Morning America.
Canadian TV network CTV also distanced themselves from the stylist, revealing that it was pulling all episodes of her wedding-focused reality show I Do Redo from its platforms ahead of its expected US premiere on Netflix.
The bond between Harry, Meghan and Mulroneys was clear to see when Brian (far left), John (far right) and Ivy (next to her brother) were all given important roles in the Sussexes’ wedding. Pictured, the Mulroney children with the other page boys and flower girls, including Prince George (next to Meghan) and Princess Charlotte (left, by Meghan’s train)
The Duke of Sussex ‘never turned up empty-handed’ when they visited Jessica and Ben Mulroney and their twins Brian and John and daughter Ivy, pictured together, the book claims. Seeing Prince Harry with the children helped Meghan see what he’d be like as a father
She then stepped down from the board of directors of The Shoebox Project, a charity that she founded with her sisters-in-law, Caroline, Vanessa, and Katy Mulroney.
In a statement shared on Instagram, the charity said: ‘Jessica Mulroney is a founding member of The Shoebox Project and she has dedicated herself to its growth and success over the years, for which we are very grateful.
‘In light of recent events, the charity supports Jessica’s decision to step away from the Board of Directors.’
Jessica’s friendship with Meghan was not the only aspect of her life that suffered as a result of her becoming embroiled in a social media row with black influencer Sasha Exeter in June. She was dropped by multiple brands and employers
Jessica’s husband Ben – the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney – then stepped down from his role as the host of CTV’s celebrity news show ‘etalk’, a position that he had held for 18 years.
Jessica appears to be taking steps towards making amends; earlier this month she revealed on Instagram that she has used some of her time away from the platform to work on a project to help ‘marginalized communities across Canada’.
Although the mother-of-three did not elaborate or offer any other details about the project, she did offer a potential hint in a follow-up Instagram Story post, in which she said: ‘If anyone has old computers they no longer use, please DM me.’