Meghan Markle Slammed by Neighbor Who Says She ‘Doesn’t Get Involved With the Community’

Four months after In Touch reported that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were “considering returning to England,” one of their Montecito, California, neighbors claimed that the family matriarch doesn’t give them the time of day.

“I personally don’t think that Meghan is an asset to our community,” Richard Mineards, who lives near the royal couple, told Daily Mail on Friday, December 6. “She doesn’t really go out or get involved with the community,” he added.

Mineards’ tone changed while talking about Harry, telling the outlet that he rallied around the town “to a certain extent because he’s quite jolly.”

That said, just two days prior, Harry shared how he “very much enjoy[s] living here and bringing [his] kids up here” for their privacy.

Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, moved to the wealthy California town in 2020 after stepping away from their duties as active members of the royal family. The couple, and their kids, Archie and Lilibet, now reside in the 14,500-square-foot property that features nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms and luxury amenities.

Two years later, the family patriarch had nothing but great things to say about his foreign neighbors during an interview on Today.

“You know, home — home for me, now, is, you know, for the time being, in the States. We’ve been welcomed with open arms,” he gushed to host Hoda Kotb, noting that he and his family have “such a great community up in Santa Barbara.”

Although Harry and Meghan’s idea of a fresh start was seemingly dreamy in Southern California, they faced ongoing challenges that made their life away from the royal family in the U.K. almost impossible to handle.

Harry’s process in obtaining a visa turned ugly after he faced lawsuits following his admission of doing cocaine as a teenager in his 2023 memoir, Spare. However, in September, Newsweek reported that the Heritage Foundation’s lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security was privately ruled and closed.

One month prior, a source exclusively told In Touch that Meghan and Harry’s problems “have gotten so bad that they’re considering returning to England. They want to come home.”

Later that month, a separate source said that Harry and Meghan “seemed to have unrealistic goals from the beginning” and “believed they could have the best of both worlds.” On October 16, Page Six reported that the two purchased a beautiful home “somewhere in Portugal,” after their eviction from Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, England.

Meanwhile, a third insider gave an update on Meghan, matching up with her neighbor’s claim that she doesn’t go out in public.

“She’s been having a great time getting back out and socializing more and her aim is to do a lot more of that next year. The past couple of years she’s been pretty isolated at home,” the third source exclusively told In Touch on Thursday, December 5.

Source No. 3 continued, “But she’s found her confidence again and has a good group of friends that support her and stand by her and are a bit of a shield for her at these Hollywood events.”