Ashley Cole "wasn’t keen" to date Meghan Markle, claims the duchess' former friend Lizzie Cundy.
The radio presenter,53, has countered claims the royal reportedly made about being pursued by Cheryl’s footballer ex in 2013 during a meeting with a showbiz journalist.
Seven years later, Lizzie has alleged that Ashley, 40, didn’t want to pursue the now Duchess of Sussex as she tried to set Meghan up with an “English boyfriend” after meeting at a charity event.
Speaking to Grazia, she shared: "Meghan said she loved London, and would love an English boyfriend, so I went through my phone to see who I knew that might be a good fit.
"I tried to find her a boyfriend - Ashley Cole wasn’t so keen - but I did try to fix her up, which is funny looking back."
Lizzie’s claims come over seven years after Daily Mail journalist Katie Hind claimed Meghan showed her messages former England star Ashley had been sending her.
She wrote: "[Meghan pulled an] iPhone from her handbag, she pointed to the picture of a good-looking man on her Twitter account, and said: 'Do you know this guy, Ashley Cole?
"'I bet,' I said calmly.
"She continued: 'He wants to go out on a date while I'm over here in London. What do you think? Do you know him?'"
At the time Ashley was playing for Chelsea and earning around £100,000 a week.
But in the UK, he was known as pop princess Cheryl's ex, who had a roving eye reputation. Meghan, who knew nothing about his cheating past, was swiftly informed - and decided to swerve a date with the footie ace.
She reportedly said: "Some of my friends told me to stay away from him, too. I think I'll leave it."
Meghan, then 32, had just divorced film producer husband Trevor Engelson, and was meeting up with UK journalists in a bid to get a mention in press the other side of the pond.
She went on to meet Prince Harry on a blind date and the couple wed in 2018 – they have since welcomed two children, a son Archie, two, and daughter Lilibeth.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the birth of their daughter at the weekend and revealed she was named after the Queen's nickname.
Meghan gave birth to their second child Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on Friday, June 4, at 11.40am at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara and weighed 7lb 11oz.
However, some have argued whether it was right to name the baby after the Queen's nickname, with royal biographer Angela Levin branding it "rude".
Appearing on Good Morning Britain today alongside royal commentator Isabel Oakeshott, Trisha Goddard defended the pair and said: "I don't believe it for a bit that they haven't spoken to the Queen."
She fumed that it was "bullying now", insisting: "They can't do anything right anyway.
"This is about pain and it's about continuous and relentless bullying."
