Meghan Markle’s Former Costar Simon Rex Was Offered $70,000 to Lie About Dating Her: ‘Nothing Happened’

Now that’s loyalty. Meghan Markle’s former Cuts costar Simon Rex claims he was offered a whopping $70,000 from a British tabloid to lie about dating the 38-year-old.

“Nothing happened. We never even kissed,” Simon said on the March 16 episode of the “Hollywood Raw” podcast. “It was just, like, we hung out once in a very non-datey way. She was just someone I had met on a TV show and we got lunch. That was the extent of it.”

Before Meghan said “I do” to Prince Harry in 2018, there were several rumors about the men she previously dated. Many speculated she linked up with Simon after they met on the set of Cuts in 2005, but truth be told, they were just friends. Following a story about her past lovers, Simon said he turned down a lot of money to exaggerate his relationship with his former costar.

“When that story broke, a couple British tabloids offered to pay me a lot of money to say a lie that we actually hooked up,” Simon continued. “I said no to a lot of money because I didn’t feel right lying and f–king up the royal f–king family.”

Since Meghan first linked up with Harry, she fell victim to intense scrutiny from the British public. In January, the couple announced they would be “stepping back” from their royal duties to try and live a life away from the public eye.

In Harry’s opinion, the royal family did not “protect” Meghan “enough,” a source told In Touch exclusively in February. “Harry’s accused the royals of treating him and Meghan differently [than] the rest of the family and says that they didn’t welcome her into the family with open arms.”

The source continued, “Harry thinks it’s unfair that there’s one rule for him and Meghan and another for his cousins,” the insider added. “The way he sees it, [Princesses] Eugenie and Beatrice are allowed to have lives outside of the family and are still royals so why can’t he and Meghan?”

Asides from being sick of living life under a microscope, the pair is over obeying royal orders. “Harry and Meghan have had enough of the negative press and rules and regulations that come with being tied to ‘the firm’ so are willing to give it all up and gradually become financially independent,” another source exclusively told In Touch. “They want their own life.”