One is married to the King’s youngest son and uses the title of Duchess, while the other presents a British daytime TV show with heartthrob Ben Shephard – yet Meghan Markle and Cat Deeley share a surprising connection.
The Birmingham-born This Morning host, 48, is close friends with Soho House director Markus Anderson, the Canadian mogul who helped matchmake Meghan and Prince Harry nine years ago.
Taking to her Instagram page on Sunday, Cat shared a selection of sweet and amusing photographs of herself with Markus to celebrate his birthday.
‘Happy Birthday to my partner in crime, wine and dine, ride or die @anderson_markus. Thank you for always making my life more FABULOUS, I love you to the moon AND back X,’ wrote the TV star.
From attending concerts and enjoying meals with one another to chilling in a pool, sharing a peck on the cheek and striking funny poses, the pictures offered a glimpse inside the pair’s fun-filled friendship.
Replying to the adorable post, Markus wrote: ‘I [love] you Bubbs xxx’ in the comment section.
It’s unclear how long the duo have been friends for, however, Cat, who forged a successful career in the US before returning to the UK in recent years, shared a similarly sweet birthday post for the businessman in 2018.
Three years earlier, Meghan, 43, even featured the British presenter on her now defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig, thanks to their shared friendship with Markus.
‘When a lady knows that everything tastes better “with a little champagne”… well, she’s a woman after my own heart,’ the Duchess of Sussex once wrote, reported Hello! magazine. ‘Such is the case with Ms. Cat Deeley.
‘Not surprising though, given our shared love for partner in crime extraordinaire, Markus Anderson, who you’ve seen on The Tig time and time again.’
Markus is widely credited with helping Meghan and Harry’s romance flourish in its early days and has been by the former actress’ side for many years.
The Canadian was with the American mother-of-two when she made her first public outing with Harry at the Invictus Games in 2017.
He also acted as her ‘bouncer’ as she made her way through the crowd of photographers outside a New York hotel for her baby shower in 2019.
The businessman, who grew up in Peterborough, Ontario – a Canadian town 90 miles north-east of Toronto – moved to London at the age of 18, where he landed a job as a waiter at the A-list members-only club Soho House.
He quickly caught the eye of founder Nick Jones, and rose through the ranks while developing an immense network of celebrity friends.
Nick soon sent him back to Canada to set up a Soho House in Toronto – and in 2011, he met a young Meghan after she moved to the country to film the first season of her TV legal drama Suits.
The two quickly grew close, with Meghan once writing on her now defunct website The Tig: ‘What would I do without you, my loving, supportive, and endlessly fun friend?
‘I know what… I would be bored, and life would be infinitely less interesting. I love you SO much. Happiest of days for you now and always. Love you.’
Meghan even referred to Markus as ‘uncle’ to her two dogs Guy and Bogart, and was photographed on a lavish vacation with him in Madrid in 2016.
Well-connected Markus soon began introducing her to his celebrity clientele and friends, including George and Amal Clooney and Jessica Mulroney – daughter-in-law of ex-Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who went on to become one of Meghan’s closest pals before a rumored falling-out divided them in 2019.
A Soho House source previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Long before Prince Harry came on the scene, Markus was introducing Meghan to all sorts of rich and powerful people.’
While Meghan and Harry are widely believed to have first met on a blind date in London set up by designer Misha Nonoo, it was in Canada – and more specifically at Markus’ Soho House – that their love blossomed.
He reportedly arranged for the couple to meet secretly in private rooms at the club, and helped them escape on romantic weekend getaways together.
The consultant was once dubbed the ‘second most important man in Meghan’s life’. However, although he was pictured with Prince Harry on a visit to Soho House in Austin in March 2024, more recently he was said to have ‘vanished’ from their inner circle.
This March, a friend of Markus’ told the Mail that his bond with Meghan ‘may’ not be as tight as it once was.
This was put down to Markus’ extremely busy professional life as an executive at Soho House, which means he travels ‘almost constantly.’ The private members club now has 42 outposts around the globe.
Notably, Markus did not appear in the first season of the Duchess’ Netflix cookery show, With Love, Meghan, and is not believed to be lined up for season two.
His friend admitted: ‘He just really is not comfortable in the spotlight… it’s not his thing.’
However, he and Meghan were spotted together at a baby shower for a mutual friend in December – before eagle-eyed royal fans speculated that the businessman joined Meghan and Harry on their Disneyland trip in June.
The Duke and Duchess enjoyed a family outing to the ‘Happiest Place On Earth’ with their children Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.
Following their visit, Meghan shared a happy video montage to her Instagram account, showing the family enjoying the thrilling rides, meeting Disney characters and spending quality time together.
In several pictures, Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lili were all in the images – meaning the photographs must have been taken by an unnamed cameraman.
Another snap showed Harry and Meghan screaming with joy on the Space Mountain rollercoaster.
In this photo, and in another on the Cars Land ride, Meghan had obscured those sitting behind her by using black heart emojis to cover their faces.
Nonetheless, eagle-eyed royal fans were soon convinced they’d uncovered the identity of the Sussexes’ mysterious companion.
‘Is that Markus Anderson behind her?’ one wrote on Twitter, while another speculated: ‘I think Markus Anderson was with them so he was probably took the photos.’
A third person online added: ‘Markus Anderson from Soho House is in the back. This guy is always with Meghan. lol.’ Others wrote: ‘It was Marcus Anderson taking the pics’ and ‘I think it was Marcus Anderson!’
MailOnline reached out to representatives for the Sussexes for comment at the time.