A few weeks after Kensington Palace confirmed that Thomas Markle would be walking Meghan down the aisle at St. George’s Chapel, he’s now reportedly told TMZ that’s no longer the case–because he won’t be at the wedding at all. 

This comes after news from the Daily Mail that Meghan’s dad staged, and was paid for, all the paparazzi photos that have been popping up of him over the internet over the past few weeks.

Markle told TMZ that “he meant no harm to Meghan or the Royal Family when he made a deal to allow a photo agency to take pics of him getting ready for the wedding. He says he had a reason and it was not principally about money,” it says on the website. “Markle tells us over the last year he’s been ambushed by paparazzi who have photographed him in the most unflattering circumstances … buying beer, looking disheveled and reclusive. He’s especially upset that they made him look like a lush. Thomas says he doesn’t even drink beer … he was buying it for the guards at the place where he lives.”

Markle—who TMZ reports also recently had a heart attack—says he’s now backing out of attending the wedding because he doesn’t want to embarrass Meghan or the royal family. 

There’s still no official word from the palace.