Meghan Markle's Friend Accuses British Paparazzi and Tabloids of Harassment

The British paparazzi's interest in Meghan Markle is infamous, and it affects the people around her as well. Last week, Markle's friend, Canadian hockey player Michael Del Zotto, appeared on the Spittin Chiclets podcast, saying he was harassed by tabloid journalists due to his association with Markle. He said that it started very early on in Markle's relationship with Prince Harry.

Del Zotto, 33, explained that he was a huge fan of Suits when it was originally airing on TV. He had already met and befriended star Rick Hoffman, who was a fan of Del Zotto's hockey team at the time. Hoffman introduced him to other cast members while Del Zotto was visiting Toronto where the show was shot. At the time, Markle was still married to her first husband, film producer Trevor Engelson, which means they met sometime between August 2011 and February 2014.

"I remember I got [Hoffman] a signed hat by all the boys and he was extremely thankful for it," Del Zotto recalled. "And through these times Meghan was around with him, you know, co-stars on the show and she was married at the time. We had a picture of us together where I think it was the three of us were out. I believe it was Soho House, in Toronto. We had a drink before dinner."

Soho House is a private club, and it's notable that Prince Harry is a member, as is Markus Anderson, the mutual friend who introduced Prince Harry to Markle. Del Zotto speculated that journalists were untangling this connection when they stumbled across photos of him and Markle.

"Fast forward, she's now engaged to the prince and headlines are blowing up," he said. "Everyone's digging into her past, her past dating history: who she knows. I started getting calls, like we're friends, you know, I was friends with her through Rick. Sure enough, my mom's getting called. They get access, the British press is getting access to my mom's cell phone, asking, 'Hey did your son and Meghan Markle have a relationship?'"

Del Zotto said it didn't stop with phone calls. He said he was approached in person in Vancouver while leaving practice one day, and a reporter asked him bluntly if he had ever had "relations" with Markle. He said: "I'm like, 'who the f— is this guy? What's this guy asking me?' And sure enough, in the background, there's probably – I don't know – like, four cars in the background and there's numerous cameras taking pictures and videos of me. The paparazzi's back there, asking what the f— is going on right now?"

"I sprint to my car, a bunch of the boys come out. They call me after like, 'What is going on?' I'm like 'I don't know, apparently I dated or was married to Megan Markle, so that's a rude awakening for me,'" Del Zotto joked. He said that he and his teammates were shocked by the wide reach and audacity of these reporters, especially considering that they only had photos to show that he and Markle had spent time together with Hoffman. He said: "You got to be careful with who you're friends with and what pictures you post out there because nothing ever happened but the paparazzi somehow found me."