THE DUCHESS of Sussex’s former childhood boyfriend has come out in defence of the former working royal.
In response to claims that Meghan Markle had mistreated and bullied royal staffers, Joshua Silverstein told Us Weekly that he doesn’t “personally see her” mistreating royal staffers as alleged in a report by British newspaper, The Times.
“I see her doing whatever it is she feels like she should do in order to be happy and coexist within a system that has probably not been very welcoming to who she is and where she comes from,” he told the publication.
Silverstein, who is a performance artist at the Braid Theater in Santa Monica, dated Markle when she was in her teens, with her admitting during a 2013 interview with Larry King that he was her first kiss.
“I was 13. It was at like a summer camp, and I kissed him,” Markle said.
When the Daily Mail tracked Silverstein down in 2018, he beamed about the time spent with the duchess.
“We were together every day, we spoke on the phone a lot, we held hands and shared kisses,” he said.
“Meghan and I are the same age so, I know I was about 13 or 14. I obviously don’t remember ‘the kiss’ - but I do know that I was the first guy she kissed. She was a nice, kind, sweet girl.”
In response to the bullying claims, Buckingham Palace announced that they would be launching an investigation, saying in a statement that the royal household “does not and will not tolerate bullying or harassment in the workplace.”
Silverstein is now a married father-of-two who beat-boxes and dabbles in rapping.