Meghan Markle is a name which has divided the UK since her relationship with
prince Harry began in 2016, and the hate was only amplified further in 2020 following
her decision to leave the monarchy. Dislike towards Meghan has often been fuelled
by media narratives, personal biases or simply differing her opinions, but has her
new Netflix show ‘With Love, Meghan’ succeeded in its mission to make Meghan
loved by all?
The general theme of Meghan’s new lifestyle show is picturesque montages of her
garden and home which looks as though it’s straight out of a Nancy Meyers film,
Meghan cooking a recipe and then creating a craft. Seems pretty harmless, but why
has this series got everyone so riled up? In my opinion it in part comes down to the
time period this has been created in, we’re in an age where we don’t simply worship
celebrities for just existing and I think this is the main problem is with Meghan’s
show. Celebrities used to be idolised and held on pedestals to us, but with the
access social media making them feel more in reach and the economy at present,
people generally don’t want to see rich people prancing around a kitchen. Seemingly
Meghan has hit a bit of a crossroads with this show which can only work one of two
ways, either as an aesthetic programme to be put on as ultimate inspiration for this
popular homestead-trad wife lifestyle or as an authentic ‘get to know Meghan on a
deeper level’ type of media. Neither of which have been achieved.
Meghan’s personality has proved divisive, but I entered this show with an open mind
to this new image she is portraying. That’s what it comes down to, an image.
Previous lifestyle moguls such as Martha Stewart managed to perfectly create an
image based on the aspirations of her cooking and hosting skills, combined with her
authentic personality. It feels as though Meghan is trying to achieve this sort of
image, but maybe the days of worshipping a woman for baking the perfect eclairs
are behind us. The show as authentic as it tries to be felt much more like Meghan’s
latest acting venture, between forced celebrity ‘friends’ introductions throughout the
episodes who seemingly barely know her and the general sense that this is all an
act, comes across as a wholly awkward watch. It becomes clear that for this project
to work, Meghan needs to make a choice relatable or aspirational, as we see
glimpses of her fun personality, but it’s almost switched off when she remembers
she’s being watched.
Although the show has been heavily criticised, I think it has pure intentions and to be
honest people will hate on Meghan regardless of what she does, so if portraying
herself as the ‘ultimate homemaker’ is her new venture, then why not? I personally
see potential for the show, if it decides what kind of show it wants to be. The
audience can sense the performative nature of ‘With Love, Meghan’, but the rare
moments of authenticity were really enjoyable. It’s clear Meghan loves to cook and
those are the segments where she thrived, she seemed less focused on image and
more so on creating great food (I’ll definitely be making her garden pea pasta), so
the more she leans into this, the more success this show will have.