Meghan Markle is once again at the center of a cultural spectacle, blending personal brand-building with the weighty expectations of a Netflix contract. The Duchess of Sussex has kicked off 2025 with a two-pronged return to the public stage: a silent, aesthetically moody Instagram video marking her comeback to social media and a trailer for her new Netflix lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan. But as the digital confetti settles, the question lingers—are audiences still buying what Meghan is selling?
The Instagram teaser, a 30-second sunlit clip of Meghan scrawling 2025 into damp beach sand before dashing away with giggles, was quintessential Sussex-brand marketing: polished, intimate, and undeniably theatrical. Yet reactions to the clip have been a mixed bag. Her supporters see charm; her critics see calculated artifice. And hanging heavily over it all is a sense of déjà vu—a carefully crafted image paired with ambiguous intentions.
But social media comebacks are one thing. A new Netflix series is quite another. Enter With Love, Meghan, an unscripted lifestyle show promising playfulness, authenticity, and “how-to” wisdom delivered from the duchess’s well-appointed Montecito kitchen and garden.
With celebrity appearances from Mindy Kaling and Roy Choi—and a fleeting cameo by Prince Harry—the series appears to straddle the line between personal passion project and brand extension. Yet early reactions suggest Meghan’s attempt to position herself as a relatable guide to living beautifully has landed awkwardly with audiences and critics alike.
Brand experts have been quick to point out the contradictions at the heart of the show’s premise. As one commentator dryly noted, offering cooking tips while living in a multimillion-dollar estate and employing professional chefs does little to endear Markle to an audience increasingly weary of elite influencers masquerading as “everyday people.” This disconnect between Meghan’s carefully constructed relatability and her undeniable privilege remains the fault line in her public persona.
The stakes here are significant. Meghan and Harry’s lucrative Netflix deal, signed in 2020 following their much-publicized exit from royal duties, was always going to come with heavy expectations. Their initial offering, Harry & Meghan, was a smash hit, setting Netflix viewership records with its raw emotional storytelling and insider revelations. But follow-ups like Heart of Invictus and Polo struggled to capture similar attention, and the Sussexes’ overall media footprint has shrunk as public interest waned.
The Duchess’s latest move, then, feels like a strategic pivot—a softer, more personal approach designed to reconnect with audiences on a lifestyle level. But there’s a problem: Meghan Markle isn’t just a lifestyle influencer.
She carries the weight of her royal past, the controversies of her exit from that world, and the scrutiny of being half of one of the most polarizing celebrity couples of the decade. She isn’t starting fresh; she’s carrying baggage.
Netflix executives have indicated that more projects are in the pipeline—a movie, a scripted series, and more unscripted content. But With Love, Meghan will serve as a litmus test. Can Markle carve out a sustainable niche in the crowded landscape of celebrity lifestyle brands, or will the show’s success—or failure—be seen as yet another chapter in the Sussexes’ larger narrative of unfulfilled potential?