Meghan Markle faces criticism for being "disconnected from reality"
The kitchen program of the Duchess of Sussex in Netflix has received negative comments for the use of expensive ingredients and attire.
Since she married Prince Harry of England in 2018 and they became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, former American actress Meghan Markle has had to face all kinds of criticism. It was not only that the British public never fully accepted her, but everything got worse when the couple announced in 2021 that they were leaving their positions within the royal family to become independent and move to the United States. This decision, they stated, was to have a more “normal” lifestyle for them and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, but Meghan now faces negative opinions for the supposed “excessively luxurious” lifestyle that she shows both on her networks and on her show on Netflix.
controversial flowers
The controversy has been unleashed With Love, Meghan , the Duchess' cooking and lifestyle show on the Netflix platform, with which she and her husband have partnered. Critics have said that the recipes are neither “interesting” nor “affordable,” and that he shows a fixation on adding “sprinkles” of dried flowers to everything he prepares. “This ingredient reflects those small moments of joy that happen effortlessly and create that touch of magic that we all long for in our daily lives,” he said. The problem is that these flowers, which are from their brand of products As Ever , cost $15 for a 0.18 ounce (5 gram) can. In addition, viewers have complained that, more than a recipe show, it seems like a craft show “to create waste and spend more unnecessarily,” such as, for example, when it divides snacks purchased at the supermarket into decorated plastic bags.
Attitude and wardrobe
Although Meghan tries to show a friendly image, some of the public who watches her program have criticized the lifestyle she leads in Montecito, California. People have commented negatively about the expensive Le Creuset kitchen utensils, the use of a rented space for filming instead of her own kitchen, and the fact that she wears quite expensive outfits in each episode: Carolina Herrera dresses, Heidi Merrick sweaters, AYR jeans, the “basic” white Bleusalt t-shirt that costs $100, Cartier jewelry… It is said that In the first season, her wardrobe cost more than $150,000. On the other hand, several of his comments have been frowned upon, such as when he corrected a guest by telling her that her name was no longer Meghan Markle. “Now I'm Sussex.”
The criticisms
“I wish I was as disconnected from reality as she is,” someone on X wrote in a thread about With Love, Meghan . And critics seem to agree. Journalist Emma Woolf, columnist for The Times , said: "There's nothing wrong with doing a cooking show if you really want to cook. But this is just absurd, a kind of fake lifestyle show, arranging fruit and calling it a 'rainbow' dish, what everyone else calls a fruit salad." The first season, which premiered in March 2025, failed to reach the top of Netflix's most watched shows. In fact, it is ranked 385. The second season did not achieve more success: released in August 2025, it has had even fewer views and has a score of just 20% on the reviews portal. Rotten Tomatoes .
Meghan defends herself
Despite the low numbers, the duchess has said she is proud of the work she and Harry are doing with Netflix through their production company, Archewell Productions , with which they also have the documentaries Harry & Meghan , Heart of Invictus and Live to Lead . Regarding the criticism, Meghan told People That the program is designed to inspire, highlight the beauty of the simple and show that "love is in details." He affirmed that his life "has not always been like this," remembering his past as an actress. "I need to work, I love working. With my kitchen program and my lifestyle brand, I can be close to my children and do what I love. This is my way of connecting my family life with my work."
