MEGHAN Markle could have been an England WAG but was reportedly warned off going on a date with football star Ashley Cole.
The Duchess of Sussex, who was 32 at the time, had just divorced from film producer husband Trevor Engelson, and was meeting up with UK journalists in a bid to get press attention on British shores.
Prince Harry’s wife is said to have asked a British journalist pal she was with whether it was worth meeting England star Cole.
Speaking in 2017, Daily Mail journalist Katie Hind claimed Meghan showed her messages she had been sent from Ashley Cole.
The Duchess reportedly revealed that the England star had contacted her in the hopes of a romance following her divorce from her first marriage.
Hind also claims Meghan asked her advice about dating then Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who had followed the actress on Twitter and was "trying really hard".
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But Katie says she warned her away from the then Chelsea star, who was earning around £100,000 a week.
Showbiz reporter Hind said: "We had a nice chat and she got her phone out and she said 'do you know this guy called Ashley Cole'?
"I said 'yeah' and she said 'he keeps messaging me and he wants to go on a date what do you think'?
"And I'm like 'oh god no'.
"I just said to her 'no stay away from him'."
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She added: "She was just divorced from her husband and we discussed how hard it was to find a man.
"She was different in that she could have an interesting conversation, it wasn't like she was self-obsessed or wanted to talk about herself the whole time."
Journalist Hind also said she also warned Meghan to Cole’s turbulent relationship with Cheryl Tweedy and his back-catalogue of cheating scandals.
Hind wrote: “So, as the evening progressed, I set her straight.
“Meghan seemed taken aback and quietly replied: ‘Thanks, I appreciate it. Some of my friends told me to stay away from him too.
Hind said she thought the actress was interested to see what Ashley would be like, but accepted her advice.
Claiming Meghan looked disappointed, she says she felt "bad that I had crushed her dream of becoming a WAG."
But there are very differing accounts of who was responsible for calling time on any potential romance.
Cole’s brother rubbished the suggestion that the football ace begged the actress for a date.
In 2019, Matty Cole exclusively told The Sun: "It's nonsense, completely made up. He definitely wouldn’t have to beg Meghan Markle for a date.
"She's not the kind of girl he goes for anyway, and he’s never fancied her."
While former WAG Lizzie Cundy also claimed that she tried to set up Meghan with Cole.
Speaking to Grazia last year, she shared: "Meghan said she loved London, and would love an English boyfriend, so I went through my phone to see who I knew that might be a good fit.
"I tried to find her a boyfriend – Ashley Cole wasn’t so keen – but I did try to fix her up, which is funny looking back."
It all turned out fine for Meghan in the end as she married Harry in an extravagant ceremony back in May 2018.
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