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Inside Meghan Markle’s dysfunctional family

<p>You might think your own family is a bit dysfunctional, but chances are they’ve got nothing on the Markles.</p> <p>The family of the royal-to-be have made countless headlines since Meghan and Prince Harry’s relationship was <a href="/news/news/2016/11/prince-harry-slams-media-treatment-of-meghan-markle/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">made public</span></strong></a>, and with their wedding just months away, the constant drama is causing more than a few headaches at Kensington Palace.</p> <p>So, with so much going on with the Markle family, it’s about time we tried to keep track of who’s who.</p> <p><strong>Doria Ragland – Meghan’s mother</strong></p> <p>Meghan once described her mother, a yoga teacher and social worker, as a “free spirited clinical therapist” who took her to visit slums in Jamaica and Mexico as a child in order to raise her as a global citizen.</p> <p>Meghan appears to be incredibly close to her mum, who joined her in the VIP box at Prince Harry’s Invictus Games in October, and it seems the red-haired royal is a big fan of Doria, describing her as “amazing” and reportedly asking for her blessing before proposing to Meghan.</p> <p><strong>Thomas Markle – Meghan’s father</strong></p> <p>Thomas was a two-time Emmy-winning lighting director on shows like <em>General Hospital</em> (where he met Doria) for years. When he and Doria got divorced, Meghan was just six years old and went to live with her mum – however, she did see her father regularly.</p> <p>In a 2016 post on her now-deleted Instagram account, Meghan honoured her dad with a beautiful Father’s Day message. “Happy Father’s Day, daddy. I’m still your buckaroo, and to this day your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world.”</p> <p>He currently lives a quiet life in Mexico.</p> <p><strong>Samantha Markle – Meghan’s half-sister</strong></p> <p>Samantha Markle, 53, shares a father with Meghan, and although they spent time together growing up, reports suggest they have been estranged for years. Despite this, Samantha, a former actor and model who is wheelchair-bound with MS, is <a href="/news/news/2018/02/samantha-markle-unleashes-on-half-sister-meghan-in-scathing-new-interview/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">very vocal</span></strong></a> about her relationship with her soon-to-be royal half-sister.</p> <p>In multiple interviews with the media, Samantha has labelled Meghan a “shallow”, “narcissistic” person bent on “social climbing”. “No one was estranged – she was just too busy,” she once told the media.</p> <p>Two of Samantha’s daughters, Nicole Rasmussen and Ashleigh Hale, have jumped to Meghan’s defence, with the former calling her a “very nice”, “very sweet” and “very genuine” person. Rasmussen, who is not on speaking terms with Samantha, called her “abusive” and a “liar”.</p> <p><strong>Thomas Markle Jr – Meghan’s half-brother</strong></p> <p>Like his sister Samantha (from whom he’s also reportedly estranged), Thomas hasn’t been shy when it comes to speaking with the press. The 50-year-old recently shared email correspondence he had with his half-sister, who reportedly said “I don’t know those people,” referring to Thomas, who has had multiple run-ins with the law.</p> <p>“That’s pretty harsh,” <a href="/news/news/2018/02/meghan-markle-says-she-doesnt-know-half-siblings/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Thomas told <em>In Touch</em></span></strong></a>, claiming he and Meghan were “as close as we could be”. However, Samantha <a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2018/02/meghan-markles-estranged-sister-comes-to-her-defence-after-brothers-attack/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">disputed this</span></strong></a>, saying Thomas hasn’t seen the former <em>Suits</em> actress since she was 12.</p>

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Dysfunctional families we can’t get enough of

<p>Television can be a great way to escape the drama of your own life – especially when the onscreen antics make your own problems seem tame in comparison. We have a special place in our hearts for these families that make our ours seem downright normal.</p> <p><strong>1. The Bluths – <em>Arrested Development</em></strong></p> <p>Perhaps the most absurdly dysfunctional family on this list, the Bluth family are that special, classless breed of “new money” other rich people seem to so despise. But, if you’ve ever watched this delicious comedy, you’ll know that this just makes the Bluths the most entertaining family on television. Through all the alcohol-fuelled arguments and ridiculous squabbles about who should get more money, middle child Michael tries to hold everything together for his own son, George Michael. If you haven’t joined the Bluths in their crazy world, it’s about time you paid them a visit.</p> <p><strong>2. The Sopranos – <em>The Sopranos</em></strong></p> <p>Dysfunction is par for the course when dad’s a mob boss who has people killed as easily as another patriarch might have his assistant deliver anniversary flowers to his wife.</p> <p><strong>3. The Simpsons – <em>The Simpsons</em></strong></p> <p>No television family is more recognisable than the yellow-hued Simpson clan. Every member of the family has a laundry list of quirks, pet peeves, and baggage that they bring to each episode, making for endlessly watchable wacky adventures on the streets of Springfield.</p> <p><strong>4. The Lannisters – <em>Game of Thrones</em></strong></p> <p>Incest, patricide, murder, rape. Those wacky Lannisters – always getting up to something on <em>Game of Thrones</em>. Their ruthless acts have seen them become one of the most hated families on television (hi, Cersei), but it’s when they come together that the show sings. Their numbers may have dwindled since the first season, but you should never count the Lannisters out.</p> <p><strong>5. The Walkers –<em> Brothers and Sisters</em></strong></p> <p>When dad’s death reveals a decades-long affair, there’s bound to be some dysfunction emerging. When it turns out that mum knew about it all along, well, you’ve got television perfection. Watching the grown Walker family pulled back together after tragedy was a treat, as was watching them overcome their various jealousies, petty grudges, and childhood roles they never really outgrew. Through it all, though, the Walkers loved fiercely, which made for a sweet, heart-warming show that made viewers feel better about families in general.</p> <p>Did we forget a dysfunctional family? Which one would you have included on this list?</p>

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5 ways to detoxify from a dysfunctional relationship

<p><em><strong>Dr Carmen Harra is a best-selling author, clinical psychologist, and relationship expert.</strong></em></p> <p>Relationships that start out with the best of intentions and loving feelings can quickly turn toxic. It’s difficult to change a dynamic when strong emotions are already involved, and even more difficult to escape from a toxic relationship when emotions have become warped. A toxic person may become obsessed and irrational, or even turn dangerous. They may no longer see a love situation logically.</p> <p>Recognising the signs that someone is emotionally toxic is not always easy. Often, we meet people when they’re in a good state of being and then, after we’ve grown attached to them, they show their true colours. We all put on our “best face” in the beginning, but time peels away that protective mask to reveal our insecurities and faults. Sometimes, it’s stress that brings out the worst in a person. Out of loyalty, we want to make the relationship work, remembering that person’s potential for being good. The desire to hang in there through bad times is noble, but we can become badly hurt if we don’t tread carefully.</p> <p>Remember, the goal in relationships is to foster healthy, nurturing, uplifting human connections, and avoid poisonous relationships that drain you of joy and energy. When a relationship turns sour, pay close attention. If you listen to your instincts, you will know when to cut off someone whose obsession has become unhealthy. To find the strength and courage to go through with it, recognize your self-worth. Recognise, too, that you are doing the other person no favours by allowing the creation of bad karma between you. Let that person go their way and work on personal issues without you being enmeshed with him or her. And if it’s you who is becoming too needy, clingy, or dependent on someone, you need to revisit what’s within and find security in a relationship with yourself, your healthy ambitions and aspirations, and Spirit.</p> <p>The most unfortunate aspect of any toxic relationship is that is diminishes your ability to trust others. You can lose faith in other people and yourself, and start to withdraw from people before you establish emotional intimacy. Trust is a very delicate and hard virtue to recover once it’s lost. If you leave your trust broken in pieces, all your future relationships will suffer. If you think you can bypass having trust in others and that this isn’t a crucial element of a relationship, please listen: a stable sense of trust must be developed or you will drive people away—except those drawn to work through their own trust issues, and those are not the kinds of people you want to attract. Those people often lie and cheat, which means that no matter how vigilant you are, they are able to betray your trust. Therefore, you must resolve the issues of trust within you before they can be resolved outside of you.</p> <p>There are effective ways to detach from someone, and the process doesn’t have to hurt. Breaking free of an obsessive, dysfunctional relationship takes time and effort on your part. Here are five simple actions to take every day to help you let go:</p> <p><strong>Step one: Start your day with empowerment.</strong> Say a quick prayer of empowerment each morning. Ask the Divine to make this a stress-free day and believe that it will be. Affirm to yourself as soon as you wake up that your happiness is not dependent on this person. Recite quotes that strengthen your independence and commitment to taking care of yourself and your needs. Instead of reverting your thoughts to this person, divert your attention by performing an activity centred around you and your own needs: go to the salon, get a massage, etc. Perform any empowering activity that will refocus your attention on you</p> <p><strong>Step two: Replace your obsession. </strong>Exchange your obsession for a much more positive activity. Every time you find yourself thinking of the person, force yourself to have more productive, positive thoughts. Contemplate a project, think about an upcoming event that excites you, or evaluate the outcome of a different concern. Tell yourself that you have bigger things to worry about than that petty person. The more you force yourself to think about something else, the more you train your brain to function on other elements of life.</p> <p><strong>Step three: Turn to others.</strong> This is not a time to isolate yourself. Rely on the support and compassion of friends and family, especially those who have experienced similar situations. It becomes easier to wean yourself off of a person when you open yourself up to others and allow their energies into your life. If you’re in a toxic relationship, simply sitting down to talk to an uplifting person comes as a breath of fresh air.</p> <p><strong>Step four: Practice self-care. </strong>This is the time to take care of yourself. Invest in yourself and your needs. You are your own main priority. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of self-pampering; exercise regularly, take care of your health, splurge on one item, reinvent your look—anything to make yourself feel happy and confident in your attractiveness and worth! In this way, you learn to appreciate yourself enough to rise above the dominant influence of a single person.</p> <p><strong>Step five: Get into a new routine.</strong> In the beginning phases, you’ll need to distract yourself, even force yourself to look the other way when all you want to see is this person. This is admittedly the hardest part, but once you do develop new habits the process becomes much easier. By performing new activities that are unrelated to the person in question, you rewire the neurons in your brain to form new patterns of thought. Daily activities help with this. Take up a new hobby, join a club—anything positive to fill your schedule and keep busy. Don’t give yourself time to obsess. Then, make these new activities part of a new, everyday routine. Rebuild your life around other priorities.</p> <p>Dysfunctional relationships can greatly damage our well-being. But learning to detach and cleanse from the toxicity of a turbulent relationship restores inner peace and emotional balance. Practice these five steps to cleanse your spirit and regain trust in the power of positive relationships.</p> <p>Have you ever had to detoxify from a dysfunctional relationship? What advice do you have for others going through the same thing? Let us know in the comment section below.</p> <p>These are excerpts from Carmen Harra’s upcoming book <em>The Karma Queens’ Guide to Relationships</em>.</p> <p><em>To find more information about Dr Carmen Harra, visit her <a href="http://www.carmenharra.com/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">website here.</span></strong></a></em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2016/06/the-best-way-to-apologise-according-to-science/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The best way to apologise, according to science</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2016/05/why-always-being-right-is-ruining-your-relationship/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Always being right is ruining your relationship</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/relationships/2016/05/marriage-secrets-from-relationship-experts/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>6 marriage secrets relationship experts want you to know</strong></em></span></a></p>

Relationships