In August 2016, Meghan Markle jetted off to the Amalfi Coast for a whirlwind girls’ trip with her BFF, stylist Jessica Mulroney. The women, both in their 30s, sipped negronis and white wine and lounged poolside at Le Sirenuse, a cliffside resort to the stars. They snapped carefree selfies from behind Holly Eyewear sunglasses, a boutique Canadian brand, tagging their photos #MJxItaly for maximum Instagram follow-ability.
The images of Mulroney and Markle smiling in the bright Italian sun betrayed no signs of the royally juicy secret they carried: Just one month earlier, Markle went on first-date drinks with her future husband-to-be, Prince Harry, and the couple was quickly falling in love. Mulroney knew about the budding romance “before anyone else,” royals reporter Katie Nicholl, author of Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, tells Cosmopolitan.com. But she’s “both loyal and discreet, and Meghan really valued that.”
Nearly two years and one royal engagement later, Mulroney has proven to be more than just a trusted confidant: As Markle’s unofficial style advisor, the Canadian public relations-maven has helped mold the former actress into one of the most influential fashion icons in the world.
Since Markle gained global fame as Harry’s girlfriend, Mulroney hasn’t publicly spoken about her bestie’s royal relationship. But now, multiple sources close to both women reveal new insight into the pair’s friendship and just how much Markle turns to Mulroney as a right-hand woman. Not only has Markle adopted a very similar fashion aesthetic to her BFF, but she also has asked her for all sorts of lifestyle advice, from yoga teachers to favorite manicurists. (Representatives for Mulroney did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story.)
That influence will be front and center at Markle’s May 19 nuptials, where Mulroney's twin sons Brian and John, 7, and daughter Ivy, 4, will serve in the bridal party, Kensington Palace confirmed.
The future royal has leaned on Mulroney, who touched down in London on Wednesday, for months as an “unofficial wedding planner,” consulting over the phone and attending dress fittings, says Nicholl. “She helped Meghan choose the dress designer and is helping with all the details of the wedding planning behind the scenes.”
Mulroney's quiet influence on Markle’s style, dubbed “The Markle Effect” or “The Markle Sparkle” by the press, has a net value of about $212.1 million, according to Women’s Wear Daily. Mulroney’s friends aren't surprised by the impact.
“Jess has come up with style concepts for me ranging from the Grammys red carpet [looks] to casual shoots at home with my family,” Canadian television journalist Tracy Moore, a close friend of Mulroney’s, tells Cosmopolitan.com. “She’s the one you want in your corner for any and all fashion opportunities.”
Mulroney’s Big Break
Mulroney, born in 1980, fell in love with style around age 6, she told the Globe and Mail in a 2016 profile. Fashion is also in her genes: Mulroney is the great-granddaughter of Benjamin Brownstein, the founder of luxury Canadian retailer Browns Shoes.
After graduating from McGill University, Mulroney worked for her father, Stephen, a clothing manufacturer, before teaming up with her sister, Elizabeth, to start a sleepwear and lingerie distribution company. The siblings even garnered the Canadian rights to luxury lingerie brands like La Perla and Cosabella, according to a 2017 Toronto Life profile.
The successful move eventually led to a conversation with Bonnie Brooks, the former CEO of Canadian retail business group Hudson’s Bay Company in Toronto. The pair discussed a role for Mulroney overseeing a lingerie section for brides at the Canadian location of Kleinfeld, the boutique made famous by TLC’s reality show Say Yes to the Dress, but Mulroney “wanted a bigger role,” so Brooks placed her in the Kleinfeld's marketing department, according to Toronto Life. The store opened in spring 2014.
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“I got so excited about the idea of this bridal salon,” Mulroney told the Globe and Mail. “There was nothing like that in Canada. So quickly, I jumped into the bridal business.”
Through her own 2008 marriage to Ben Mulroney, a TV host and the eldest son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Mulroney landed connections to big-time Canadian personalities, like Sophie Grégoire Trudeau and Tracy Moore, who proved vital in furthering her career as a bridal, fashion, and lifestyle consultant.
“Ben is a star in Canada, and for a long time Jess was always Ben’s wife, but she’s worked really hard to create a name for herself,” TV host Jessi Cruickshank, who met Mulroney through Ben in 2014, tells Cosmopolitan.com. “Even before this whole Meghan Markle thing ... she’s a hustler and has always been working and been an influencer.”
Today, Mulroney has 114,000 followers on her perfectly curated Instagram account to Ben's 27,800. Although Mulroney has carefully crafted her image, she bequeaths the spotlight when lending her bridal and fashion expertise to high-profile friends, like Markle.
Much like the royal wedding, Mulroney unofficially helped style Cruickshank for her 2014 wedding and introduced her to big names in the bridal industry, like the maker of her dress, designer Mark Zunino.
“She knows everybody in fashion, especially in bridal, and is this connecting factor for people,” says Cruickshank. “When she found out I was getting married, it was almost like she was getting married all over again — she was so excited to help me with every single aspect of my wedding.”
Former Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe met Mulroney at a sunny April photo shoot in Jamaica for Wedding Vacations magazine, where the style expert is a contributing editor. Bristowe, who appears in the forthcoming July issue, says Mulroney didn't “miss a beat” when it came to on-set styling: “She has a laid-back, easygoing personality that makes you feel comfortable.”
Styling Canada’s First Lady
Markle isn’t the only big name to give Mulroney’s work a global platform. The stylist helped put Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, on the radar of international designers. According to Toronto Life, on a 2015 double date at Toronto hotspot Buca, Grégoire Trudeau and Mulroney first discussed the sartorial demands of being a political spouse and the attention that would be paid to Trudeau’s upcoming swearing-in-ceremony.
Mulroney helped her choose a white trench-style coat by Canadian brand Sentaler and a navy dress from Quebecois designer Erdem. Grégoire Trudeau’s decision to promote Canadian style made her immensely popular among the fashion set and won immediate favor in the media for putting her country's designers in the global spotlight, with CBC calling her “Canada's latest fashion icon.” At the time, Grégoire Trudeau told the Globe and Mail: “I never expected the level of reaction.”
Mulroney’s own wardrobe, awash in bold colors, textured fabrics, and draped jackets, is often Canadian-designed. And she’s always searching for new local designers for herself and her clients — even unofficial ones like Grégoire Trudeau — says Aleks Susak, a Canadian designer who dresses Grégoire Trudeau and works with Mulroney.
“Her work as a stylist with Sophie Trudeau and other personalities has resulted in the international promotion of Canadian brands,” Susak tells Cosmopolitan.com. “At no other time in the history of Canadian fashion have Canadian brands received as much attention as they do today, largely due to the efforts of style influencers like Jessica.”
Colleagues say it's clear from her impact on Grégoire Trudeau that Mulroney doesn't simply blindly select pretty patterns: She’s very conscious of the sartorial message an item of clothing sends.
“She’s obviously so much more than a stylist, she’s a strategist,” Rachel Goldrick, editor of Wedding Vacations, tells Cosmopolitan.com. “She’s a PR guru, extremely plugged in, and is connected to amazing collaborator and designers.”
Now, the world is seeing that strategy play out on the global stage.
Creating the 'Markle Sparkle'
Markle and Mulroney met and bonded over a shared love for yoga when the actress moved to Toronto in 2011 to film Suits, according to Nicholl. “In Canada, the entertainment and fashion world is pretty small,” says Cruickshank. “I know Meghan was often out and about at parties and at Soho House, and everybody in that world bumps into each other and knows each other.”
“They went to the same yoga and Pilates and became firm friends,” says Nicholl. “Meghan really looks up to Jessica. She thinks she’s a talented person, a wonderful mother, and a great best friend.” The two worked out in the same gym, shared a hairdresser and manicurist, and “hung out all the time,” adds Nicholl. “For years, she styled herself on Jessica.”
In 2013, Markle’s marriage to film producer and talent manager Trevor Engelson ended, and she began to blog more on her now-defunct lifestyle site, The Tig. Amanda Dishaw, editor of royal fashion blog Meghan’s Mirror, tells Cosmopolitan.com that Mulroney’s fashion influence on Markle was clear on the site.
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“Meghan began producing a lot of content on her lifestyle blog The Tig about feeling good about herself and promoting self-love,” says Dishaw, who shares mutual friends with Mulroney. “That’s when we started to see Meghan sharing her fashion online and incorporating Jessica’s themes into her style.”
Many of Markle’s looks on The Tig were heavily “French-inspired,” adds Dishaw, with influences from Emmanuelle Alt, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris known for her skinny-fit pants, collared button-down shirts, and blazers.
“Meghan used to say she loved that look, because it’s not too try-hard — polished but not perfect,” she says. “It was heavily influenced by Jessica, who rubbed off on Meghan like that in a lot of ways. Like, for instance, draping a leather jacket over the shoulder with the arms not put through and promoting Canadian fashion.”
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed their engagement in England on November 27, 2017, Harry sported a classic navy suit, and Markle was elegantly draped in a winter-white wrap from Line the Label and sparkling Les Plaisirs de Birks yellow and opal earrings.
The coat, now appropriately named “The Meghan” by Line the Label, sold out immediately after Markle debuted it, and Birks confirmed a 500 percent spike in online traffic to their site, according to the New York Times. Both pieces come from Canadian labels that “Jessica has longstanding relationships with,” says Dishaw. “Over the last few years, everything that Meghan has worn … it’s all bought by Jessica as a stylist, and then Meghan wears it afterwards.”
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According to Dishaw, the personalized gold “love” necklace by Maya Brenner, which Markle wore while out in Toronto in December 2016 and bore the initials M and H, was purchased by Mulroney at a retail location. It was then provided to Markle to wear.
“Before Meghan moved to London and set up her new life as a royal, Jessica likely also worked directly with brands to get pieces for Meghan to wear,” explains Dishaw, “Things are largely vetted through Jessica for public events.”
Though there are similarities between the styles of Markle and Mulroney, there are a few notable differences.
“[Mulroney has] a really great style of her own that’s a little bit more risqué than Meghan, with deeper Vs to show off more cleavage,” Dishaw says. “But she still likes the big-buttoned shirts and skinny jeans and great ankle boots.”
A New Life Among Royals
Markle and Mulroney were inseparable during the actress' time in Toronto. They attended yoga classes together, charity events, fancy dinners, Toronto Blue Jays games and booked all-girls vacations, like the Amalfi trip.
Mulroney was a guest when Markle accompanied Harry to an official royal appearance for the first time at the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017, one year after the Italy jaunt. To avoid paparazzi, the Mulroneys reportedly had the couple over for dinner so they could keep out of the public eye, an unnamed source told E!
“A decade of friendship and being instrumental in giving the couple the space and privacy to date and get to know each other position Jessica to be a trusted and seasoned advisor on the many decisions surrounding the planning of the wedding,” close friend and wedding dress designer Veronica Di Santo tells Cosmopolitan.com.
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Harry has gotten to know the Mulroneys, too, including their three young children.
“Ivy especially is a big fan,” the source told E! “She, of course, has no idea that he’s a prince though.” The 4-year-old, who has modeled with her mom for a Birks campaign, will appear as a bridesmaid and her 7-year-old twin brothers, Brian and John, will be page boys on Saturday.
When Markle left Canada for good to move in with Harry, Nicholl says “the hardest thing about leaving Toronto for Meghan was leaving Jessica.” But it’s clear the pair will remain close and will prioritize trips across the pond. This week's is perhaps the biggest — Mulroney and her family arrived in London on Wednesday to make wedding preparations. Just two days to go.
Rose is a Senior Editor at ELLE overseeing features and projects about women's issues. She is an accomplished and compassionate storyteller and editor who excels in obtaining exclusive interviews and unearthing compelling features.
