Thomas Markle asked why he and Meghan Markle can't reconcile after she said 'forgiveness is really important'

• Thomas Markle asked why his estranged daughter Meghan Markle can't "forgive" him.
• His comments come after the Duchess of Sussex told The Cut that "forgiveness is really important."

Meghan Markle's estranged father Thomas questioned why they haven't reconciled after she spoke about the importance of forgiveness in with The Cut.

The publication's Allison P. Davis said that during her interview with the royal, she asked whether Meghan believed there was space for reconciliation with members of her family and the royal family. "I think forgiveness is really important. It takes a lot more energy to not forgive," said the Duchess of Sussex, 41. "But it takes a lot of effort to forgive."

On Saturday, Thomas Markle took aim at the statement in comments reported by The Mail on Sunday newspaper.

"If she really believes in forgiveness," Thomas, 77, said, "then why can't she forgive me?"

"I have apologized to her multiple times for any hurt and pain I might have caused her," he added. "I love my daughter. She talks about forgiveness, so why not start with her own family? What about forgiving me?"

Another element of the Duchess of Sussex's interview that her father appeared to take issue with was when she said she'd "lost" her dad in a conversation with her husband about tabloid culture.

"Harry said to me, 'I lost my dad in this process'," she said. "It doesn't have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that's his decision."

"I am not lost," Thomas said in response to the comment. "She knows where to find me. My number hasn't changed. I would love to hear from my daughter and meet my son-in-law and my grandkids for the first time," he added.

But whether reconciliation is on the cards for the Markles is unclear as their estrangement dates back as far as 2018, prior to Meghan and Harry's royal wedding, which Thomas did not attend.

During her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex said that before the wedding her father had lied to her about giving information to British tabloid newspapers, even after she'd offered to help him "kill the story."

"'I just need you to tell me,'" Meghan said she told her father. "'And if you tell me the truth, we can help.' And he wasn't able to do that."

The pair have not spoken to each other since a brief phone call after the wedding.

Thomas Markle and representatives for Meghan Markle did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.