Sophie Grégoire Trudeau could turn to her close friends for support during the breakdown of her marriage to Canadian Prime Minister Justin.

And among those she could rely on, there will probably be Meghan Markle, 41, with whom she has been friends since 2016.

According to Finding Freedom, the couple became “quick friends” while the Duchess of Sussex was living in Canada – and have stayed in touch ever since.

In recent years, their friendship appears to have only grown stronger – with the former journalist appearing on Meghan’s Archetypes podcast in November 2022.

Meghan, who called her friend ‘Soph’, revealed she threw a pool party last summer for Ms Trudeau, during which the two ‘laughed like schoolgirls’ and drank wine on the terrace of his Montecito mansion.

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau could turn to her close friends for support during the breakdown of her marriage to Canadian Prime Minister Justin – including Meghan Markle

The Duchess of Sussex previously revealed how Sophie supported her during her pregnancies

According to the bombshell biography Finding Freedom, when she started dating Harry in 2016, Meghan was urged to take Ms Trudeau’s advice by her friend Jessica Mulroney, who considered the two women “now had a lot in common” by because of their famous husbands.

Speaking on the podcast, Meghan introduced Ms Trudeau as a ‘humanitarian mother’ she met in Toronto, where Meghan was living while filming Suits, during the city’s fashion week seven years ago .

The Duchess of Sussex became part of Toronto’s ‘platinum elite’, which included their mutual friend, Ms Mulroney.

“Sophie had given up a career in television, where she worked as a correspondent on CTV’s eTalk, to take on a more formal role alongside her husband as he embarked on the campaign trail,” say the authors of Finding Freedom.

“The couple quickly became friends over email, Meghan was interested to learn how Sophie managed to go from entertainment news correspondent to beloved First Lady, while deftly avoiding controversy.”

A close friend of Trudeau and former cabinet member told the authors: ‘Sophie would have made it clear that every aspect of Meghan’s past would be unearthed, so the most important thing was to be honest with Harry – tell him everything.

“Sophie is a smart woman and the perfect brain for Meghan. She knows how difficult something like this is.

“Few people can understand or really sympathize. For those of us who knew about their friendship, it was amazing to see the change in Meghan that followed.

Next, Meghan and Sophie were pictured in a series of photobooth images with Jessica taken at the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards at Soho House in Toronto.

And although Meghan left Canada for the UK, the two are said to have remained in close contact.

Justin and Sophie were among those attending the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022 (pictured)

Meghan admitted on her Archetypes podcast that Sophie ‘used to send me little meditations during my pregnancy’ and voice notes of ‘encouragement’, adding: ‘I’ve gone to her over the years to get some advice”.

In what appeared to be a show about the two women’s closeness, Sophie then appeared on Meghan’s failed podcast last year, discussing their friendship and her desire to break away from traditional female domestic roles.

The 48-year-old was featured in an episode titled Good Wife/Bad Wife, Good Mom/Bad Mom.

Markle described how she had ‘gone to Sophie for advice’ over the years, having met ‘seven years ago’.

Next, Sophie explained how all the women “long to be free of who we are” since they carry “most of the load” in the household and with the children.

Meghan described Sophie as “a dear friend” who is “emblematic of the strength that comes from embracing humanity, even in the face of all these family, domestic and public pressures”.

In the podcast, Meghan describes a day of laughter and fun at her Montecito mansion with Ms Trudeau. Their children played in the pool on pizza-shaped floats while they drank wine “on the terrace” and were “giddy like real schoolgirls”.

Meghan said: “It wasn’t our day as wives and mothers, all perfectly doused in buns, pearls and demure smiles.”

‘It was the other version of the two of us with wild curly hair and swimsuits and loose laundry and huge belly laughs.

‘Big hugs with our little ones, whispers of quiet girls on the terrace, stunned like real schoolgirls. We were having so much fun.

Sophie had a “full plate,” while being a parent and spouse in the public eye after being married to Justin for 18 years, Markle said in the podcast.

In the podcast, Meghan describes a day of laughter and fun at her Montecito mansion with Ms Trudeau. Their children were playing in the pool on pizza-shaped floats

Sophie had a ‘full plate’, while being a parent and spouse in the public eye after being married to Justin for 18 years, Markle said in the podcast

The First Lady of Canada was also aware of the “guilt crushing of expectations” imposed on mothers and women in general, the Duchess said in her introduction.

Grégoire Trudeau agreed and said of the guilt of being a woman and having to take on multiple roles: “I think we have learned to impose ourselves.

“A little girl is not born feeling guilty for being a girl.

‘We learn it. And that is totally unacceptable. When I started growing into an older girl in early adulthood, I realized that we often define “freedom” as a way to be free from the world, but it really is a way to be free in the world. »

Meghan then proceeded to read a passage from Shefali Tsabary’s ‘A Radical Awakening’ about a woman, like a brave lioness, who sheds all expectations and lives authentically.

Continuing the woman-lioness comparison, Meghan ends it with: “She gives up the role of savior, knowing that she can only save herself.”

In keeping with the lioness metaphor, Grégoire Trudeau added, “It’s a metaphor for everything.

Meghan met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the One Young World summit in Ottawa in 2016. Pictured together in a snap from the event shared on the Sussex Royal Instagram page in October 2019

Prince Harry and Trudeau have always sought to enjoy each other’s company at events and engagements

“She does a lot of work in the lion tribe, she’s the one hunting food and stuff.

“Women on this planet are still the nucleus of the family, they still bear most of the burden of household chores, contributing to the well-being of the family and to most decisions regarding children.

“But I think we’re all this lioness, we all have that inside of us, and we all yearn to be free of who we are.”

However, Meghan and her husband Prince Harry are also said to be close friends with Justin.

Meghan met the Canadian Prime Minister at the One Young World summit in Ottawa that year.

The pair were photographed deep in conversation.

And Prince Harry and Trudeau have always sought to enjoy each other’s company at events such as Commonwealth commemorations.

The two have also met several times during Harry’s Invictus games for service members with disabilities.

In January 2020, there was speculation that Justin Trudeau might have given a cryptic hint on Twitter about Meghan and Harry leaving the Royal Family.

Diplomatic sources said Trudeau and his wife Sophie were consulted on the decision, before members of the royal family and even the Queen.

Nine months later on Wednesday, in his Instagram post announcing the split, Trudeau, 51, wrote: “Hi everyone,

“Sophie and I would like to share that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to go our separate ways.

“As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for all that we have built and will continue to build.

“For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy.”

The couple have been married since 2005 and share three children, the youngest of whom is nine.

Sophie was a childhood friend and classmate of Trudeau’s older brother, Michel, who died in an avalanche in 1998 aged 23.

They started dating in 2003 after reconnecting as adults and got engaged soon after.