Inside Meghan Markle’s warm relationship with Nacho Figueras, his wife Delfina Blaquier and their daughter Alba – as the ‘polo wives’ support their husbands in Miami

She may have been estranged from her half-siblings in recent years – but Meghan Markle seems to have found a ‘sister’ in Nacho Figureas’ wife Delfina.

Yesterday, the Duchess of Sussex was seen warmly hugging Prince Harry’s polo-playing pal Nacho as her husband filmed scenes for his new Netflix series in Palm Beach.

The 42-year-old mother-of-two also embraced Nacho’s wife Delfina, who has previously lovingly described the Duchess as her ‘sister’ and ‘polo wife’.

The two women – who have struck up a strong friendship after attending polo matches together to watch their spouses play – were seen walking away from their husbands with their arms wrapped around each other as filming got underway.

Later in the day, Meghan was also seen lovingly greeting the couple’s eight-year-old daughter Alba – giving her a kiss on the head and a warm hug.

On Friday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Royal Salute Polo Challenge with the couple in Florida – where Meghan was seen holding Alba’s hand as they walked through the grounds.

Here, FEMAIL delves into Meghan’s relationship with her ‘sister’ Delfina and her family.

Meghan’s ‘sister’

Alba’s mother Delfina has even referred to the Duchess of Sussex as a ‘sister’ in the past, gushing over the ‘fellow polo wife’ in an Instagram post in 2022.

She also praised the royal mum-of-two as being ‘stronger than she knows’ in an interview with Hello! magazine in the same year.

The beaming pals posed together at the celebrity polo match in aid of the prince’s charity, Sentebale, in Palm Beach, before being snapped together again on Saturday at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge at the Grand Champions Polo Club.

The two pals looked as close as ever as they smiled for pictures with their husbands on Friday ahead of the charity pro-am polo match.

In 2022, after a glamorous polo meeting in Aspen, Colorado, Delfina said: ‘(Meghan) is so wonderful and strong. Stronger than she knows. I love being with my friends and I will always support her.’

In an earlier interview with disclosureDelfina also revealed that the couple referred to themselves as ‘P Wives’, which stands for ‘Polo Wives’.

Delfina has been married to the millionaire polo player, whose full name is Ignacio Figueras, since 2005 – and the couple attended the royal wedding together in 2018.

Alba and Lilibet’s friendship

What’s more, Meghan’s daughter Lilibet appears to have struck up a close friendship with Alba.

According to Hello reporter Alexandra Hurtado, Alba asked for her friend at the polo event on Friday.

The royal reporter wrote: ‘According to Nacho, Alba wanted to know why the Sussexes’ daughter Lili wasn’t there.’

Support in the wake of Megxit

Since the Sussexes moved to the US, where Nacho and Harry played polo together at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, Meghan and Delfina have also become firm friends.

In the summer of 2022, Delfina took to her social media account to share a loving message about the Duchess of Sussex, saying it had been “so special” to spend time with her.

Delfina posted a photo of the pair standing as they watched their husbands compete at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, writing: ‘M – looking forward to many more of these times with you and H.

‘Getting time together during these two months was so special. I wish everyone knew you as you are.’

She continued: ‘My sister, my now co-“pwife” (polo wife) – brilliant of you to come up with this. Can’t wait to see you again soon, to share excitement, hikes and just more chill time.’

Delfina added: ‘You have my respect too. Keep walking, steady and strong. Listen to your heart, it will guide you well because you have a big one and it is beautiful. I love you my love.’

Bonded over polo and blogs

Delfina first met her husband Nacho at a polo match in Buenos Aires in 1997. They started dating in early 1998 and welcomed their first son in 2000 and married in December 2005.

The couple now have four children together: Hilario; Aurora; Artemo; and Alba.

Described by Tatler as the ‘David Beckham of Polo’, Nacho now has a 6-goal handicap and an estimated net worth of $30 million and has modeled for Ralph Lauren since 2000.

He and Harry have played alongside each other in charity matches for the past decade, ultimately resulting in them becoming close friends.

Both Prince Harry and Nacho regularly play in charity matches to raise funds for Sentebale, an organization founded by Prince Harry which supports children and young people affected by HIV in southern Africa.

Speaking about his friendship with the royal, Nacho told Town and Country magazine in 2019: ‘What I like most about him is how genuine he is and how serious he is about improving the lives of children who have not had the blessings that we have had. had.’

Nacho has been to Lesotho with Prince Harry at least three times, most recently opening the Mamohato Center together in 2015.

The daughter of an Argentinian polo player, Delfina grew up in Buenos Aires. Until she was 18, she was an athlete and represented her country at various high jump competitions.

She attended university and graduated with a degree in landscape design before becoming a professional model and photographer.

While her family spends a lot of time on the road, they are based outside of Buenos Aires, where they own a 30-hectare ranch that houses about 40 world-class polo horses in 38,750 square meters of stables designed by Argentine architect Juan Ignacio Ramos. Their family home is only five minutes’ walk from the stables.

Writing on her blog, Delfina revealed that her children are homeschooled as a result of their nomadic lifestyle as the family travels around the world for Nacho’s career.

In addition to supporting her husband’s career and looking after her children, Delfina has a busy creative career. In 2018, she co-founded the fashion brand Àcheval Pampa, with the brand debuting at Paris Fashion Week AW18.

The designs are inspired by her Argentinian heritage and achieve elevated gaucho style, a riding fashion of South American cowboys.

She also dedicates a lot of time to We Are Figueras, her fashion and lifestyle blog she created to share her family’s travels.

On the blog, she writes: ‘As the kids get older I felt I had to work on something for me, I consider myself a creative type of person and had all these ideas to do something fun.

‘Creating a blog was a lot of fun and a lot of work. I thought it would be a good idea to present my point of view and share with you things that I like to do, see, see, get or even visit.

‘There is so much out there and I thought it would be a good idea to do it everywhere I was.’

The polo couple have been friends with Prince Harry for years and were among the few to attend perhaps one of the most exclusive events of the decade: the 2018 royal wedding with Meghan.