Meghan Markle’s half-sister Samantha fires off barbed comments against Duchess after hearing to decide if she can sue her for defamation over 2001 Oprah interview adding: ‘We taught her how to walk!’

Meghan Markle’s half sister sounded off on her sibling following an appearance in a Florida court where she’s attempting to file a lawsuit against the Duchess of Sussex over remarks made during the former royal couple’s infamous 2021 Oprah interview.

Speaking to reporters outside court, Samantha Markle, 58, said she was ‘optimistic’ about the prospects of a trial but said that she was ‘too strong’ to allow Meghan’s comments about not really knowing her half-sister effect her too much but hopes that her famous sister will some day ’embrace the truth.’

Samantha refuted the claim that she once said that she helped to raise her famous sister. ‘My brother (Thomas Markle Jr.) and I were very clear that we were integral in her life until 12. We taught her how to walk… we took her to school, we went to the duck pond – we were normal brothers and sisters,’ she told The US Sun.    

‘But nobody ever saw me say I raised her. My dad and (Meghan’s mom) Doria raised her,’ she added.

Samantha, whose father Thomas married Meghan’s mother Doria after she and her brother Thomas were born, claims that the former Suits star implied she is an ‘imposter,’ a ‘deceptive opportunist’ and a ‘charlatan’ in her interviews.

She is seeking damages in excess of $75,000, claiming that Meghan’s remarks caused her to lose sales of her book, The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister, and caused her professional and social harm.

Samantha Markle is seen on Wednesday outside the courtroom in Tampa, Florida, where she is trying to convince a judge to allow her defamation case against Meghan Markle to proceed

Hours after Samantha’s appearance, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex then went on to an event for injured United States Navy SEALs in San Diego

Samantha Markle claims that Meghan defamed her in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey

Meghan Markle and her half sister are pictured together at Samantha’s graduation in 2008

‘People change, they have agendas, they have other things influencing their lives and, you know, it doesn’t change reality. It doesn’t change my heart, I think I’m a lot stronger than that, but it’s sad,’ Samantha went on to say.

‘I think the truth stands on its own, so I’m optimistic and thankful that we have a justice system that gives us the chance to present the facts,’ she continued. 

Samantha said that she accepts  that she has to live with Markle’s comments but hopes her sister ‘some day she can embrace the truth and a better part of herself.

‘I would want that for her but until then I have to get back a lot of my life that was lost from a lot of damage over several years.

‘All we can do is move forward based on truth and positivity.’

Samantha also said she was hurt by Meghan claiming they were not close as children, but told Fox 13: ‘People change, they have agendas, they have other things influencing their lives. It doesn’t change reality.’

Samantha, who has been a frequent presence on television and in newspapers since Meghan first emerged as Prince Harry’s girlfriend, said that her book was not ‘a slamming tell-all’.

‘Anybody who has read my book knows it’s more of a sociological book about social labels,’ she told The US Sun.

‘The title, as a matter of fact, wasn’t a jab at her (Meghan), it was a mockery of social labels because the media had previously called her ‘Princess Pushy’.’

Peter Ticktin, Samantha’s lawyer, claimed that his client – who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair – has been harassed since Meghan’s interviews, and fears to leave her house.

Samantha Markle and Meghan share the same father, Thomas Markle. He married Doria Ragland in 1979

Samantha Markle has frequently appeared on television shows to talk about her half sister

Michael Kump, Meghan’s lawyer, said that Samantha’s case was baseless, and none of Meghan’s statements were libelous.

‘This has always been a lawsuit in search of a viable claim,’ said Kump, who also represents the Kardashian family.

‘The case has failed because it runs head first up against defamation law and the First Amendment.’

The case was initially brought in March 2022, and dismissed in March this year.

The judge in March found that Meghan was simply expressing ‘an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-sibling.’

Samantha is now trying one more time to bring the case to trial in Florida.

Judge Charlene Honeywell, overseeing the case, is expected to decide whether to proceed to trial in the coming weeks.