Daniel Martin has fiercely defended Meghan Markle during a recent appearance on the Gloss Angeles Podcast. Daniel – who appeared on With Love, Meghan – shared that he has proudly known the former actress for 15 years.

Speaking to hosts Kirbie Johnson and Sara Tan, Daniel gave his thoughts on the backlash that Meghan received over the release of her Netflix series back in March. Asked why people are “so up in arms” about Meghan, who stepped down as a working royal alongside Prince Harry in 2020, he said: “It’s jealousy, it’s racism, it’s envy.”

He added: “At this point, I’m like ‘bring it’. For the longest time a lot of us close to her, we didn’t know how to navigate all of this. When the show came out, I think for me, I was like, you know what, if you can’t see a friendship that she has with these people on the show, that’s on you.”

Kirbie also pointed out that Daniel appeared to be mentioning Meghan in the episode more than he spoken about her previously – including revealing more of Meghan’s make-up tips.

To which, he replied, “100%”, before adding Meghan is “living her life now”.

Sara also then pointed out that Meghan is now “free”, to which Daniel simply agreed, “She’s free.”

He then added: “I’m just so proud of her and what, because this is who she’s always been. All of us who have known her, I’ve known her for 15 years. This is who she is.

“It’s like, if you don’t see that, and you don’t think its coming from an authentic place, then you need to go [and] check yourself.”

Meghan was joined by Daniel in the first-ever episode of her series, which is set to return later this year.

Referring to him as her “dear friend”, the 43-year-old also revealed that her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, refer to him as their “uncle”.