CELEBRITIES
Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart speaks out on Duchess Meghan’s lifestyle business
KiMi RobinsonUSA TODAY
Aug. 5, 2026, 4:00 p.m. ET
Martha Stewart isn’t exactly passing the baton to her lifestyle empire successors
When asked about Duchess Meghan’s Emmy-nominated Netflix lifestyle show “With Love, Meghan,” the multi-hyphenate homemaking expert, 85, acknowledged the difficulty of making career pivots
Meghan, 45, started acting as a teen, spent the bulk of her TV career on “Suits,” married Prince Harry in 2018 and stepped away from royal duties in 2020
“If you’re an actress, it’s hard to then transition to a princess and then from a princess into a homemaking guru on a television show,” Stewart said in a People cover story published Aug. 5. “It doesn’t sort of follow. So go from there.”
Stewart said she’d recently attended a dinner party with Meghan, but Stewart said, “I didn’t talk to her really more than to say a couple words.”
Since leaving England for California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have started building a media empire that includes Archewell Productions – which has a multi-year deal with Netflix, through which they’ve released a documentary, “Harry & Meghan,” and “With Love, Meghan” – their nonprofit Archewell Philanthropies and Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever
Before she met her husband, with whom she shares children Archie and Lilibet, Meghan curated the lifestyle blog The Tig. On two seasons of “With Love, Meghan” – plus a holiday special – the Los Angeles-born actress cooked, gardened and crafted with special guests including Mindy Kaling, Chrissy Teigen, chef José Andrés and tennis champion Naomi Osaka
Stewart has previously admitted to not watching Meghan’s show. In an April 2025 Access Hollywood interview, Stewart said, “I’ll watch an episode and see how she does.”
Months later, Stewart offered some more pointed feedback for the duchess. She told Yahoo Lifestyle interview in July 2025 that she didn’t “really know” Meghan “very well, and I hope she knows what she’s talking about.”
“Authenticity, to me, is everything, and to be authentic and knowledgeable about your subject matter is extremely important,” she added.
