MEGHAN Markle has admitted “mistakes” after her Netflix cooking show was savaged by critics and branding experts pointed out a “major flaw”.
The Duchess of Sussex celebrated a “new chapter” as her lifestyle series finally hit the streaming platform telling friends and family it was “just part of that creativity that I’ve missed so much”.
With Love, Meghan launched on Tuesday after being delayed from January because of the Los Angeles wildfires.
Just hours later, Meghan officially launched her As Ever brand, with her updated website revealing her first products were her raspberry jam, and the flower sprinkles she repeatedly promotes throughout the show.
But the brand has continued to be dogged by controversy, after the mayor of a small Majorcan town accused her of “plagiarism” over similarities between her logo and their 14th century coat of arms.
And the eight-part series, which sees the former Suits actress give hosting tips and cooking with her celebrity friends, has been savaged by critics.
One review in The Guardian described it as a “gormless lifestyle filler” and “so pointless it might be the Sussexes’ last TV show”.
While The Telegraph gave it two stars and branded it “insane” and an “exercise in narcissism”.
And the former head of ITV Daytime Dianne Nelmes, who launched This Morning, said the show has a “major flaw”.
She told MailOnline: “With Love has a major flaw. The concept is outdated.
“Today young women look to TikTok, YouTube and social media for their lifestyle gurus and celebrity tips.
“Meghan is so far removed from the reality of the women viewers who her show is targeting that I wonder what creative thinking went into the early development.”
Now Meghan has admitted she makes “mistakes” but insisted that she is “learning every day”.
In an interview with bookshop Godmothers, which was named by Meghan’s pal Oprah, she was asked when she last “felt like a beginner at something”.
She said “Right now! I’m launching my business, As Ever, which has been my heartsong for years. Every day I’m learning so much as a founder.
“I’m taking baby steps and big strides at the same time, making mistakes and learning from them, and really working to find all the joy while diving into the creative process and the business.
BY Matt Wilkinson - Royal Editor
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, launching her Netflix rebrand with an eight-part cookery coming five years after Megxit.
Speaking in a promotional interview to mark ‘With Love, Meghan’ hitting telly screens she returned to gushing about her Royal Family connections.
The late Queen Elizabeth II honoured Harry and Meghan the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their 2018 wedding.
There have been calls for the couple to be stripped of the titles after blasting the Royals on their Oprah Winfrey tell-all, six-part Netflix series ‘Harry & Meghan’ and shock memoir ‘Spare’.
The California-based pair have also attracted criticism for only visiting Sussex once when they held several engagements seven years ago.
But speaking to People magazine in the US Meghan now claims the title is important to her.
She said: “It’s our shared name as a family, and I guess I hadn’t recognized how meaningful that would be to me until we had children.
“I love that that is something that Archie, Lili, H and I all have together. It means a lot to me.”
The Sussex name, she adds, “is part of our love story.”
Meghan and Harry are also the Earl and Countess of Dumbarton but rarely use the title and are not expected to pass it onto Archie.
They are banned as part of the Megxit agreement from using their ‘SussexRoyal’ brand although the website remains.
And last year set up ‘The Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ with Meghan’s coat of arms.
Earlier this week Meg featured Lilibet in an Instagram reel with Serena Williams to promote her new projects.
It comes after the three-year-old appeared in a photo for ‘As ever’ food brand which sparked controversy after its logo was similar to a Majorcan town’s coat of arms and name the same as New York clothing brand.
The couple usually keep their children out of the spotlight.
But in her interview carried out after she left Harry in Canada to spend Valentine’s Day alone during the Invictus Games she talks about her children.
She claims five-year-old Archie told her “mama, don’t work so hard’.
Meg told the outlet: “It was the sweetest thing.”
Following a series of rebrands in the US, including a failed podcast with Spotify and projects such as 40 x 40 which failed to get off the ground, Meg is now aiming to become an entrepreneur.
But she had to drop the name ‘American Riviera Orchard’ for her lifestyle after opposition from trademark authority.
Last month she posted in Instagram saying her brand wished to be called ‘As ever’.
She told People magazine: “When your children get to a certain age – when you’re not just playing in the sandbox with them but almost playing in your own sandbox again – it’s super joyful.
“As a woman, a mom and a wife, to be able to find yourself again – in a way that was always present but that you maybe couldn’t put as much attention on as you now can when your kids are a little bit older – is a wonderful feeling.”
Harry, whose Netflix effort Polo bombed, appears sporadically in the cookery show ‘With Love, Meghan’.
The show was due to be aired in January but delayed because of the LA fires.
BY Matt Wilkinson – Royal Editor
“Being in the granular parts of the business gives me the same feeling I have when I’m gardening: bare hands in the soil, planting a seed with so much care, and nurturing it as it grows.
“There’s something energizing about being in my 40s and turning my passion project into a business—and sharing that with the world.”
It comes as it was revealed Netflix is making a second series of With Love Meghan.
The duchess posted on Instagram saying she’s “thrilled” with the decision.
Wearing a Netflix cap she was seen grinning in a short clip on her stories, with the caption: “Lettuce romaine calm… or not(!) because I’m thrilled to share that Season 2 of ‘With Love, Meghan’ is coming!”
A TV insider said: “This may raise a few eyebrows but one thing which Netflix love is controversy – and this show certainly created alot of debate.
“Many were so scathing about the eight-part series that they thought there was no way it would get another season.
“But it seems the streamer is delighted with the chatter its created on both sides of the Atlantic this week.”
It’s not clear whether work has already started on the second series, but Netflix want it to drop later this year.
