Royal flub! Shahs of Sunset star Nema Vand apologized for bringing up old dirt on Meghan Markle, who dated one of his close friends in high school.
“So this has been a nightmare for me and I’m not even going to address it again ’cause it’s been a nightmare,” the reality star, 37, teased during the Wednesday, June 10, episode of the “Scheananigans” podcast with Scheana Shay. “I told an incidental story on ‘Scheananigans’ that I thought was fun and cutesy and then I retold the same story on another podcast because again, fun and cutesy, and in the back of my mind I’m like, ‘This s–t’s already been out there, I talked to Scheana about this.’ And it went wild.”
One month earlier, the Bravo star revealed that he grew up with Markle, 35, in Los Angeles before she was thrust into the spotlight. “My friend Gabe that I grew up with dated Meghan in high school, and he said that after she got on Suits, they were friends for years afterward,” he explained at the time. “And he was like, ‘Yeah, she kind of, like, ghosted me after Suits,’ and it, like, really hurt his feelings. I got the sense that Gabe really valued her friendship.”
Vand later took the opportunity to address the former duchess directly. “If you hear this, reach out to Gabe,” he joked. “You know who that is.”
Though he had good intentions, Vand admitted that his lighthearted story didn’t come without some major consequences. “I learned my lesson. Don’t f–k with the queen because it was ridiculous,” he told Shay, 35, on Wednesday. “People get really crazy about Meghan Markle and in no way was I trying to disrespect Meghan Markle! It was a compliment to her. I was saying she was so sweet and kind.”
The Vanderpump Rules star revealed that she had first heard the same story over a year before it got so much attention, and was shocked at the response Vand received from avid royal family fans.
“I apologize to Meghan who is a very sweet person and has always been nothing but and I’m leaving it — those are 2019 problems,” Vand concluded. “I’m not taking that energy to 2020. I learned my lesson. Big time.”
Us Weekly confirmed in March that the retired actress and her husband, Prince Harry, had settled down in Los Angeles with their 13-month-old son, Archie. The family of three previously stayed in Vancouver, Canada, in the wake of their shocking exit from the royal family. Since returning to California, an insider revealed that Markle has been spending some much-needed time unwinding with her mom, Doria Ragland, and enjoying her newfound freedom after stepping back from her senior royal role.
“Harry and Meghan were really excited to move to L.A.,” another insider told Us in April. “They’ve been looking forward to [moving], and they’re very content and happy to finally be all settled in. And of course, Meghan feels more at home too and she’s really starting to feel like herself again.”
Listen on Spotify to Us Weekly’s Hot Hollywood as each week the editors of Us break down the hottest entertainment news stories!