Politician dumps model over 'racist' Meghan Markle remarks
Fox411: UK politician Henry Bolton splits with model girlfriend, Jo Marney, after 'indefensible' Meghan Markle remarks.
A United Kingdom Independent Party leader announced on Monday he ended his relationship with his model girlfriend after she reportedly made a string of “racist” remarks about Meghan Markle, including saying Prince Harry’s “black American” fiancée will “taint” the Royal family with “her seed.”
In an interview with Sky News on Monday, Henry Bolton, 54, said the remarks made by his former girlfriend Jo Marney, 25, were “indefensible.”
“Jo is utterly distraught. These messages were never meant to be in the public eye. She wasn’t hiding them but they were part of a direct message exchange with some somebody else,” Bolton said.
He added, “They were made in sort of heat of the moment in a difficult conversation, in a slightly provocative conversation. But they are not defensible in any way.”
In the text messages, published by The Mail on Sunday, Marney called the duchess-to-be a “dumb little commoner” who is “obsessed with race.” She also accused Markle of paving the way for a “black king” in the British monarchy. Marney also reportedly told her friend that she believed black people were “ugly” and “not [her] thing.”
“This is Britain. Not Africa,” she texted. When her friend accused her of being “racist,” she replied: “Lol so what... Not wanting other races and cultures to invade your own culture doesn’t mean I hate their race. Just means I don’t want their cultures invading mine.”
Bolton said Marney, who describes herself as a “presenter, music journalist, model, actor [and] Brexiteer,” will be working to “put her life back after all this” and said the incident caused embarrassment. He told Sky News that he was “deeply unhappy” about people using Marney’s remarks to attack him.
Marney apologized on Sunday for her “shocking language” and said her words were “taken out of context.” She was ultimately suspended as a UKIP member after her remarks were made public.
The 25-year-old thanked a fan on Twitter for her support on Monday, saying: "We all make mistakes. It's how you deal with those mistakes and conduct yourself in the future that matters."
She tweeted earlier: "Drenched. Need a poncho."
Bolton said the couple decided to split after “many hours of difficult conversation.” Bolton and Marney began dating just before Christmas, but their relationship was surrounded by controversy after people accused him of having a “clandestine affair.”
Bolton was forced to fend off the rumors, announcing earlier this month he and his wife, Tatiana, with whom he has two children, broke up weeks before and he was dating Marney. He denied the affair.
The model tweeted a picture of her and Bolton at a “fantastic” Christmas dinner on Dec. 16.
Markle, who will marry Harry on May 19 at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, has previously spoken about being biracial and how that affected her acting career.
Kensington Palace released a statement in November 2016 formally addressing Harry’s relationship with the then “Suits” actress and slamming “outright sexism and racism” in articles and social media comments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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