The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is reportedly tipped to face a major and unexpected family shift from her own flesh and blood. Her estranged father, Thomas Markle, is currently eyeing up another walk down the aisle at the age of 81, having found a new anchor of happiness with a local nurse.

According to sources close to the Markle family who spoke to the Daily Express, the 81-year-old patriarch has fallen in love with a 46-year-old Filipino nurse named Rio Caneda. The insider revealed that Mr. Markle is now “happier than he could ever have imagined”. This late-in-life romance, though filled with a significant age gap, has breathed new vitality into the tumultuous life of the British royal’s father.

It is understood that destiny brought Thomas and Rio Caneda together at a rehab hospital in the Philippines. This was where Mr. Markle received treatment and specialized medical care following his painful amputation last December. The dedication and warmth shown by the nurse—35 years his junior—during his darkest days on a hospital bed ultimately captured and completely won over his heart.

Should this wedding take place, it will mark the third marriage in Thomas Markle’s life. He previously experienced two dissolved marriages: first to Roslyn Loveless in 1964, and second in 1987 to Doria Ragland—the biological mother of Meghan Markle.

An anonymous source shared with the media: “Thomas told me he’d marry her in a heartbeat and he’s telling the rest of the family he’s happier than he could ever have imagined at the thought of spending the rest of his life with Rio.”

At present, the source has not specified whether Mr. Markle will hold the wedding in the United States or return to the Philippines to tie the knot. Previously, the Duchess’s father had repeatedly expressed that he “loves” living in the Southeast Asian nation and is truly “enjoying life” there.

The news of Mr. Markle’s impending wedding immediately drew intense attention from the international public, particularly British royal enthusiasts. Many are turning their curiosity toward Meghan Markle’s potential reaction to this development, given that the relationship between the father and daughter has been frozen and completely cut off for years. Whether this milestone of late-stage happiness will serve as a bridge to heal deep-seated rifts of the past, or simply stand as a distant new chapter in the Markle family lineage, remains an open question.