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Sports broadcaster Ryen Russillo claims he was once turned down by Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, despite believing she was "obtainable."
Russillo, who previously hosted a radio show for ESPN and now works as a podcaster for The Ringer, said he met Markle, then an actress on the USA Network television drama Suits, during a celebrity flag football game in February 2014 while appearing on The Bill Simmons Podcast last week.
“It was all of the [Sports Illustrated] swimsuit models. So, nobody was really paying any attention to Markle,” Russillo said on-stage at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver.
“I was like, ‘That’s my lane. She’s probably doubting herself a little bit right now,'” he added. “She’s never been more obtainable.”
Russillo said he didn't make a move on Markle at the game, but sent her a direct message pitching an appearance on his at the time ESPN program, The Ryan Russillo Show, to promote the Suits Season 4 premiere with an ulterior motive, which proved to be unsuccessful.
“It was a very soft sell,” he said. “It was, ‘Hey, I know the new season … is coming out if you ever want to come on the show to promote it.’ It was really professional.”
“It was ice cold,” Russillo said of Markle's response. “It was, ‘Oh, I don’t know anything about sports, but thanks for the offer.”
Markle played the role of Rachel Zane on Suits for seven seasons from 2011 to 2018 before marrying Prince Harry in May 2018. The actress and her husband, who share two children, stepped away from their royal positions less than two years later, moving from London to her home state of California in 2020, amid an estrangement from the rest of the royal family.