Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding in May 2018, in Windsor, England. Photo: TNS
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https://scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3203571/who-meghan-markles-first-husband-trevor-engelson-prince-harrys-wife-busy-netflix-and-spotify-gigs Celebrities
Who is Meghan Markle’s first husband Trevor Engelson? Prince Harry’s wife is busy with Netflix and Spotify gigs, but her Hollywood producer ex once dated a RHONY star and is remarried with two kids
- Engelson is a producer who’s worked on films like License to Wed with Robin Williams, Remember Me with Robert Pattinson and, currently, a new film with Ryan Reynolds
- He’s remained hush-hush about his former romance with the Suits star, but in 2017, he had plans to launch a ‘fictional’ series about a wife who leaves a husband for a British prince …
Trevor Engelson and Meghan Markle were married for two years before she found her Prince Harry ... so what do we know about her first husband? Photo: @TrevorEngelson/Facebook
It’s difficult to imagine that Meghan Markle was ever romantically linked to anyone but Prince Harry, but long before the American actress found the love of her life in Buckingham Palace, she was actually married to a Hollywood exec.
It’s safe to say that her relationship with her first husband received nowhere near as much media attention as her current one though. Especially when you factor in the endless streams of Netflix, Spotify and book deals currently surrounding Harry and Meghan’s publicly broadcasted lives.
Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson met in the early 2000s. Photo: @evokedotie/Instagram
So, who was the other man before Prince Harry? Here’s what we know about Trevor Engelson, aka Meghan Markle’s first husband …
Trevor Engelson is a New Yorker
Trevor Engelson attends The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Next Generation reception in 2009, in Hollywood, California. Photo: AFP
Engelson, now 46, was born in Great Neck, New York, in 1976, making him five years older than Markle. According to Town & Country magazine, he studied at University of Southern California’s school of communications and is currently based in Los Angeles.
He’s a Hollywood producer and literary manager
Trevor Engelson and Meghan Markle back in the day. Photo: @quetalespectaculos/Instagram
Engelson has made a name for himself in showbiz and is considered a successful manager of screenwriters, actors, novelists and film directors in LA, according to his IMDB page. He owns a production company called Underground, which is based in Beverly Hills.
Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson enjoyed a much more low-key relationship. Photo: @___livia95___/Twitter
He’s served as the producer for several notable films including License to Wed in 2007 with Robin Williams, Remember Me in 2010 with Robert Pattinson (where Markle even made a cameo) and FX’s hit crime drama series Snowfall in 2017, to name a few.
Trevor Engelson is a successful Hollywood producer. Photo: @TrevorEngelson/Facebook
The Hollywood veteran has at least two more projects in the pipeline: action animation Dragon’s Lair: The Movie with Ryan Reynolds and sci-fi thriller Share.
He was married to Meghan Markle for less than two years
Trevor Engelson and Meghan Markle started dating around 2004. Photo: @public_megart/Instagram
Markle and Engelson met in the early 2000s when they were both in their 20s and began dating by 2004, which was way before the actress landed her breakthrough role in Suits.
Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson were together for about seven years before they tied the knot. Photo: @public_megart/Instagram
After dating for about seven years, the two finally tied the knot in what’s been described as a casual ceremony at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios, Jamaica in September 2011, per Town & Country magazine.
The gorgeous 55-room-and-suite boutique hotel offers accommodation of up to US$3,000 a night and over 100 guests attended Markle’s first “I do” moment, with the celebrations spanning over several days, per Now To Love.
Photos obtained by British media show Markle dazzling with a natural sun-kissed glow in a simple strapless white gown and partying with friends and family at a beach barbecue.
They divorced due to ‘irreconcilable differences’
Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson split after under two years of marriage. Photo: @___livia95___/Twitter
Unfortunately, the marriage was short-lived. After just under two years, the couple quietly divorced in August 2013. Although neither have publicly explained the reason for their split, reports show that it was due to “irreconcilable differences”, per HITC.
Trevor Engelson and Meghan Markle divorced quietly in 2013. Photo: @public_megart/Instagram
However, other sources suggest that the marriage could have fizzled out due to their busy work schedules as Markle was filming Suits in Toronto while Engelson was living and producing five hours away in LA.
Engelson was going to make a fictional TV series about a wife who leaves a husband for a British prince …
Trevor Engelson was involved in a project about someone’s ex-wife who marries a British prince. Photo: @TrevorEngelson/Facebook
Talk about a plot twist! Back in 2017, by the time Markle was dating Harry, Fox announced it was working on a “fictional” TV show about a husband who loses his wife to a British prince – with Engelson at the helm.
Trevor Engelson has worked with plenty of big name actors in the industry. Photo: @TrevorEngelson/Facebook
The synopsis stated: “Divorce is hard. Sharing custody is harder. Sharing custody with the British royal family when your wife marries a prince, in the unforgiving spotlight of London’s tabloid media, is next level.” There hasn’t been any update on the show’s progress since.
He’s since remarried – to a millionaire heiress – and is a dad
Trevor Engelson reportedly dated Sports Illustrated model and actress Charlotte McKinney at one point. Photo: @TrevorEngelson/Facebook
After Engelson’s divorce from the starlet, he reportedly dated Sports Illustrated model and actress Charlotte McKinney and briefly saw Real Housewives of New York’s Bethenny Frankel, stated Elle. Frankel recalled on the Kyle and Jackie O show telling Engelson, “Holy s***, your ex is going to be a princess. Is that crazy?”.
Trevor Engelson married Tracey Kurland in May 2019. Photo: @atelevisao/Instagram
But he settled down again and married dietitian Tracey Kurland in May 2019 – a year after Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding. Kurlan, according to Your Tango, is the daughter of a millionaire mortgage lender.
Tracey Kurland is a dietitian. Photo: Tracey Kurland Engelson/Facebook
The couple currently have two kids, just like Meghan and Harry. But Engelson has remained tight-lipped about his former wife and her new royal life.
Meghan’s controversial brother Thomas Markle Jr. openly criticised the duchess’ first marriage on Big Brother VIP, a show that also included Caitlyn Jenner and former Trump adviser Manigault Newman. “The guy she was married to the first time [Engelson], she [Markle] just walked all over him and dumped him,” he said.
On an episode of Prince Harry & Meghan: Truly Madly Deeply, one of Markle’s friends, Abby Wathen, went on the record to talk about the split. “We both went through divorce so we bonded over that too. I was destroyed but she was empowered. She took her power back. It wasn’t the right relationship for her, so she moved on.”