Troy Aikman conceded that he isn’t friends with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle despite living near the royal couple in the affluent neighborhood of Montecito, California
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have lived in Montecito, California since 2020(Image: Getty Images)
NFL Legend Troy Aikman conceded that he hasn’t developed a friendship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle despite living a hop and a skip away from the royal couple.
Since hanging up the cleats back in 2001, Aikman has dived headfirst into a successful broadcasting career.
The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, who recently celebrated a major family milestone and welcomed a new director to the ESPN booth, spends most of the NFL offseason at his residence in Montecito, California — the same neighborhood that Harry and Meghan call home.
Yet it appears that Aikman has no interest in hanging out with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex anytime in the near future. “I haven’t run into them,” he told Us Weekly’s Daniel Trainor.
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“But they are there from what I can gather. I think anyone with a heartbeat knows that they’re out there. But I’m not hanging with them, that’s for sure.”
Back in 2020, Harry and Meghan packed up their bags and moved to a $14 million mansion in Montecito after departing their senior roles with the royal family. According to actress and local resident Sharon Stone, the pair has seamlessly fit into the A-list community.
“You know, the thing about them that is so great is they didn’t come here to live off of our community,” Stone told Access Hollywood in 2020. “They came here to be a part of our community.
“My friend said she was sitting in her car, and they bicycled across the street and waved at her while she was sitting at the red light. They’re a part of our community.
“They’ve become a giving, caring, participating part of our community. They’re not here to be like, ‘Would you like to kiss my butt?’”
Troy Aikman admitted that he is not friends with Prince Harry and Meghan(Image: Getty Images)
Not everyone has received a warm introduction from Harry and Meghan, however. Another Montecito resident, Richard Mineards, claimed the former actress never tried to “fit in” with her affluent neighbors.
“She pays attention to every appearance, every word, every gesture,” Mineards told the Daily Mail in May. “And here in Montecito, we appreciate simple people, even famous ones. Meghan doesn’t play the community game.”
In contrast, Mineards argued that Harry is far more “approachable” compared to his wife. “He is always charming, approachable, with that very recognizable Windsor accent. He smiles, shakes hands, willingly exchanges a few words,” he said.
“We’ve seen him at the beach, in an organic coffee shop, or cycling in the hills.”
As for Aikman, he’s lived in Montecito for nearly three decades — but conceded that there’s one aspect of the neighborhood that he despises.
“I’ve had a love affair with Montecito since I first laid eyes on it in 1996,” he wrote on X back in 2022. “There’s so much to love about this laid-back coastal community, but the medians along Coast Village Road aren’t one of them.
“I understand/appreciate h2o conservation but dirt? Seriously? We can do better!”