Chrissy Teigen defends friendship with ‘polarizing’ Meghan Markle

Chrissy Teigen is firmly in Meghan Markle’s corner.

The model, 39, defended the Duchess of Sussex, 44, and said she’s undeserving of all the hate she gets in a new interview with People.

“I adore her,” Teigen said about Markle at Hello Sunshine’s Shine Away event on Saturday. “I really adore her. I think she is so incredibly strong.”

Teigen continued: “It is insane to me how polarizing she is for so many different people, when she really is just such a kind, good person that wants the best for all her friends and the best for people around her, and the best for her own relationship and for her children.”

The former “Lip Sync Battle” host added that Markle doesn’t do anything for show and just “[lives] simply.”

“She just wants those things,” Teigen shared. “And people come up with all these different things that she could be about or what she wants … [but] it’s not that complicated.”

“People are always going to read into what they want to read into, and they’re going to hyperfocus into what they want to believe,” Teigen explained. “People are just going to come up with their own story.”

Teigen also said she admires that Markle ignores the loud criticism she gets.

“I think it’s cool that [Markle] is just like, ‘Listen, say whatever you want. I’m happy and I’m healthy and I feel good,’” Teigen told the outlet.

Despite the pair being close friends, Teigen, who shares four children — daughters Luna, 9, and Esti, 2, and sons Miles, 7, and Wren, 2 — with husband John Legend, said she doesn’t organize playdates with Markle and Prince Harry, who share son Archie, 6, and daughter Lilibet, 4, because she doesn’t “leave the house.”

“I’m not joking,” Teigen said with a laugh. “I don’t go anywhere. I try to do every photo shoot, every everything at our house. So no. But if the time came up, absolutely.”

Teigen first met Markle while working on “Deal or No Deal.” Teigen was a briefcase model during the game show’s first season in 2005, while Markle appeared on the series from 2006 to 2007 before leaving to pursue her acting career.

Over the summer, Teigen appeared on Season 2 of Markle’s Netflix show “With Love, Meghan,” which sparked backlash from fans due to Teigen’s many controversies over the years, including her cruel 2011 tweet about Courtney Stodden.

Since fleeing the UK with Harry, 41, in 2020, Markle has been close with Hollywood stars like Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, George and Amal Clooney and her former “Suits” co-stars.

The couple, who married in 2018, live in a plush $14 million mansion in Montecito, Calif. with their two children.