Meghan Markle’s half-brother Tom has blamed his drunken New Year's Eve brawl with his fiancee on the pressure and scrutiny caused by his sister's engagement.

The flare-up in their Oregon home led to Tom's fiancee Darlene Blount being thrown into jail for two nights for assault.

Tom has blamed the pressure of being in the public eye for his woes, saying: ‘It hasn’t been easy. Meghan’s relationship with Prince Harry has shone a spotlight on our family. It doesn’t help when you have issues and your sister is engaged to Royalty. It adds a whole new level of scrutiny.'

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Tom Markle Jr says that his drunken New Year's brawl with fiancee Darlene came because of the pressure of being in the public eye after his half-sister Meghan's engagement to Prince Harry

And Tom – who was last year arrested for brandishing a gun at his fiancee during another drunken fracas – says they will both attend alcohol and relationship counselling.

‘We’ve been under a lot of stress because of all the attention. At some point you find yourself drinking too much to escape the pressure.’

Tom vowed last night to ‘seek help’ after the drunken confrontation.

Tom initially told The Mail on Sunday Ms Blount had began ‘pummelling me in the face with her fists’, but last night he changed his tune and said the injuries he sustained were self-inflicted.

Darlene's police mugshot after she and Tom Markle Jr had a drunken row on New Year's Eve

As Prince Harry and Ms Markle reportedly ushered in the New Year ‘partying like tycoons’ in the millionaires’ playground of Monaco, Tom and Darlene were downing beers and whisky at the decidedly less salubrious Cedarwood Saloon in their home town of Grant’s Pass.

Tom, 51, who has the same father as Meghan, said he and Darlene, 37, rowed at the bar before she stormed off. He returned to their bungalow and continued drinking, becoming increasingly enraged.

When Darlene finally came home she immediately began downing a bottle of bourbon.

‘I said some swear words, it turned into an argument,’ Tom confessed.

Darlene called the police – but ended up being arrested herself. ‘I might have said that Darlene beat me up,’ Tom said. ‘She was arrested for domestic violence. It was a big confusion.’

The fiancee of Meghan's brother was thrown in jail after she hit Tom Markle Jr during a drunken row - he says public scrutiny because of his sister's engagement is to blame

Mr Markle, who paid $1,000 to bail his fiancee out of jail, said: ‘We’d both been drinking. I was sitting on the couch and got up really fast, hit myself and gave myself a fat lip.’

Josephine County District Attorney’s office later confirmed that Darlene would not face prosecution.