Fans Buzzing After Meghan Markle is Spotted Dining With Hallmark Actress

Talk about a power lunch! Images that paparazzi captured of The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, leaving a casual lunch with actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, have spread like wildfire online, with curiosity sky-high about the Hallmark Channel alums’ connection.

On July 23, 2024, The Daily Mail published over three dozen photos of Markle, 42, and Williams-Paisley, 52, leaving Tre Lune, a “trendy” Italian restaurant in Montecito, California, where they both have homes. The photos were taken after their lunch on July 21 as they walked to their vehicles, smiling and chatting. According to the outlet, the restaurant is a celebrity hotspot with past patrons including Kourtney Kardashian, Ellen DeGeneres and Sofia Richie.

While Markle and Williams-Paisley may seem like an unlikely duo, they actually have a great deal in common, including acting, launching their own philanthropic initiatives, attending the same college, and being married to famous men. Williams-Paisley married country star Brad Paisley in 2003, per People, and Markle married Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, in 2018.

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Royal Watchers & Fashion Editors Spill All the Details on Meghan Markle & Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s Outfits

Given the global fascination with Markle, fashion sites and fans have been busy scrutinizing the photos of her and Williams-Paisley, from what they were wearing to what they may have discussed.

Fans were buzzing online about the lunch date, with one tweeting, “Meghan is friends with only the best people” and another writing, “Sounds like meeting of great minds.” There were hateful comments, too, from those who have strong opinions about Markle. Some even wrote on an unrelated post in Williams-Paisley’s Instagram feed, warning her not to “get Markled.”

Fashion-wise, both women dressed fairly casually for their lunch, with Williams-Paisley in a royal blue, button-down summer dress, sunglasses and tennis shoes. Markle’s outfit was more heavily scrutinized and included an homage to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

According to Hello! magazine, Markle wore La Ligne jeans and a white button down by “her favorite basics brand,” Anine Bing. Vanity Fair also reported that she was wearing her gold Cartier watch from Princess Diana’s collection (a gift from Prince Harry) and that she was carrying a Dior Lady D-Lite bag, named after Diana.

The fashion site Dress Like a Duchess dissected Markle’s entire lunch look, pointing out her “favorite” Chanel cap toe ballet flats in black and beige, Ray-Ban sunglasses, an Ariel Gordon Imperial Disc Pendant necklace and a Cartier Juste Un Clou choker necklace.

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Meghan Markle & Kimberly Williams-Paisley Have Common Passions & Live Near Each Other

Among the topics Markle and Williams-Paisley have in common is their alma mater, per Newsweek — Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois — and their shared passion for acting. Before she famously joined the British Royal Family and later backed away from official royal duties with her husband, Markle was a successful American actress who starred in the popular series “Suits” and two Hallmark movies, per IMDb.

Meanwhile, Williams-Paisley skyrocketed to fame in 1991’s “Father of the Bride,” and has starred in multiple Hallmark projects, per IMDb, including 2021’s “Sister Swap” movies with her real-life sister, fellow Hallmark star Ashley Williams.

Both women are also very involved in philanthropic work, overseeing their families’ charitable efforts. Markle and Prince Harry launched The Archewell Foundation in 2020, per People, with a variety of initiatives devoted to enhancing mental health, online safety and community building.

That same year, Williams-Paisley and her husband launched The Store in Nashville, where they also have a home, designed to serve people experiencing food insecurity with dignity. Unlike at most food pantries, the organization allows “shoppers to choose their foods from a variety of fresh, healthy options” which makes sure “families have access to meat, dairy, and fresh produce—often hard to find in traditional food assistance programs,” according to The Store’s website.

It’s not clear how long Markle and Williams-Paisley have known each other, but they both have homes in Montecito, one of the most expensive residential areas in the U.S. Markle and Prince Harry bought their home for $14.5 million in 2020, according to Hello magazine, which features seven bedrooms and 14 and a half bathrooms.

In addition to Williams-Paisley’s residence in Nashville, where she and her country star husband hosted a group of Hallmark stars for drinks and sing-alongs in the fall of 2023, they are also “part-time Montecitans,” according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

In 2018, Paisley told the outlet that after honeymooning in the area in 2003, “we would frequently take a weekend and get away from L.A., and Santa Barbara became our destination on the weekends. At some point, I finally just said, ‘We need a place there.’ Montecito and Santa Barbara and that whole area, it’s just so magical.”

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