Meghan Markle: The Founder, the Podcast, and the Great Pretend
The Meghan Markle Interview That Explained Everything and Nothing
If you made it through Meghan Markle’s June 17 appearance on Aspire with Emma Grede without getting secondhand embarrassment, congratulations. You’re stronger than the rest of us.
It was her first big sit-down since launching her lifestyle brand As Ever, and if you expected anything resembling vulnerability or clarity, you must be new here. Instead, listeners were treated to an uninterrupted stream of corporate buzzwords, vague affirmations, and a barely concealed disdain for the very public she's courting.
Her message? “Tell the truth.” Her delivery? A soup of “partner,” “brand,” “authenticity,” and “Netflix.”
Buzzwords Don’t Equal Brains
If there was a drinking game for every time Meghan said “authentic,” “partner,” or “brand,” you’d have passed out by the seven-minute mark. The repetition wasn’t just annoying—it was strategic. Say something empty enough times and maybe, just maybe, it’ll start to feel full.
But this wasn’t strategy. This was pure deflection, and it’s a pattern we’ve dissected before in From Crown to Cringe.
Founder Energy Without the Follow-Through
Let’s talk about this so-called entrepreneurial arc. Meghan refers to herself as a founder—because she… sold jam? A single overpriced product, riddled with shipping delays, brand confusion, and runny reviews.
As Ever launched like a fashionably late guest who forgot the dress code: high hopes, poor execution, and absolutely no vibe. And this isn’t new. We’ve been tracking this brand identity crisis from the rebrand that could have been to what went wrong and why we're not surprised.
Narcissism Wrapped in Positivity
What’s most jarring isn’t the lack of substance—it’s the performance of substance. Meghan leans into a specific kind of curated feminism, where personal growth is a product and every setback is a branding opportunity. She quotes Serena Williams. She references James Clear. She says she’s setting boundaries.
But boundary-setting doesn’t mean evading reflection. What about the jam refunds? What about the botched rebrand? What about the fact that no one even understands what As Ever is supposed to be?
A Media Moment That Fell Flat
The Aspire episode was promoted as intimate and real. Instead, it was peak celebrity media training. She smiled. She nodded. She dodged. Critics called it a masterclass in nothing. And if that sounds familiar, it should—it’s the same critique we explored in Hailey Bieber, e.l.f., and the Meghan Markle Mistake.
Meghan didn’t give us her truth. She gave us her talking points.
The Clothes Still Aren’t Saving Her
Let’s not ignore the packaging. Meghan wore a navy Ralph Lauren suit paired with $10,500 diamond earrings from her royal rehearsal dinner. And somehow, even that couldn’t elevate the moment. Her styling, like her statements, continues to fall flat. Why her outfits keep missing the mark is a question fashion editors are tired of answering.
Final Thoughts: The Great Pretend
Meghan Markle’s problem isn’t that she’s trying to rebrand. It’s that she’s pretending she hasn’t failed at it. The Aspire interview was a chance to clear the air, reset the narrative, maybe even own some missteps. Instead, she gave us a résumé in podcast form.
And now we’re left with the same question we’ve asked for years: If everything is curated, where’s the woman?
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Disclaimer: This is an opinion piece. All views are those of the author. If you’re still a Meghan stan, please consider this a polite invitation to exit stage left.
