Michael Del Zotto breaks silence on his alleged relationship with Meghan Markle, rumored to have caused a split with her ex-husband

Michael Del Zotto and Meghan Markle were rumored to be dating in 2013 after she uploaded a photo of the two, alongside Suits actor Rick Hoffman, on social media. Markle had just split with her husband, American director Trevor Engleson.

Del Zotto played for the New York Rangers at that time and recalled an incident with paparazzi. They blasted him with questions regarding his rumored relationship with Markle after the photo surfaced on social media.

Speaking on "Spittin' Chiclets" on Dec. 5, Del Zotto came out with his side of the story to Paul Bissonnette and crew. Recalling the incident outside a Vancouver practice rink, Del Zotto said:

" (Referring to paparazzi) This guy sprints over to me and in his acccent, 'Do you have relations with Meghan Markle?' I'm like, 'F**k this guy ask me?' Sure enough, four cars in the background and there's numerous cameras taking pictures and videos of me. I sprint to my car."

After escaping the paparazzi outside the practice rink, a couple of Rangers teammates who witnessed the ruckus touched base with the defenseman. Del Zotto added:

"A bunch of boys come out, they call me after, 'What is going on?' I'm like, 'I don't know. Apparently I dated her or was married to Meghan Markle'. So that was a rude awakening. You gotta be careful with who you're friends with and what pictures you post out there."

Michael Del Zotto finally put the rumors to rest and confirmed nothing happened between him and Markle:

"Because nothing ever happened but the paparazzi somehow found me and my mom."

Earlier in 2016, Meghan Markle's spokesman had commented on whether the rumored relationship with Del Zotto had caused the split between Markle and Trevor Engleson. Per The Sun, the spokesman said:

"She was never alone with him and Mr. Del Zotto had absolutely nothing to do with the end of her marriage."

According to the former NHL defenseman, the British paparazzi had reached out to his mother for her comment on her son and Markle's alleged relationship:

"The British press is getting access to my mom's cellphone and asking, 'Did you son and Meghan Markle have relations?' My mom's like, 'What? What the f**k is going on?'"

Meghan Markle attended an NHL game between Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks on Nov. 20, alongside her husband, Prince Harry.

Prince Harry even had the honor of dropping the ceremonial puck before the start of the game. He followed in the footsteps of his late grandmother Queen Elizabeth, who also dropped the ceremonial puck before a game, 21 years ago.

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Early days of Michael Del Zotto's friendship with Meghan Markle

Michael Del Zotto's friendship with the actress sparked from her Suits's co-star, Rick Hoffman, who was a New York Rangers fan.

Speaking about the origins of his friendship with Meghan Markle, Del Zotto said:

"We (referring to Hoffman and himself) kind of went out a couple of times and through these times, Meghan was around with them. You know, (they were) costars at the show. She was married at the time.

"We had a picture of us together, I think it was the three of us were out. I believe, it was SoHo House in Toronto. We had a drink before dinner."

Michael Del Zotto with Meghan Markle and Rick Hoffman (Image via Spittin' Chiclets)

After Meghan Markle's split with Engleson and the start of her relationship with Prince Harry, the media dug into the actress' past, when they came across the picture of her with Del Zotto. That's when the rumors started.

Talking about the blowup in the news about their alleged relationship, Michael Del Zotto added:

"Fast forward, she's engaged to the Prince and headlines are blowing up. Everyone is digging into her past, dating history, who she knows. I started getting calls, (I tell them) we're friends. I was friends with her through Rick."