When there were no new interviews or TV appearances from the Duchess of Sussex last week or over the weekend, I was just like… sigh, I guess she’s not going to promote With Love, Meghan with any kind of traditional media, she’s just doing social media stuff. Which would have been fine, but I didn’t expect her to give a major exclusive to People Magazine for their cover story this week… and it would drop not even 12 hours after the Oscars. I know this is because she rescheduled WLM to drop today, but I really hope the Sussexes’ new communications officer helps with this kind of thing: scheduling and organizing when these rare interviews come out. You can read Meghan’s full People Mag interview here. Some highlights:
Navigating trademark issues with American Riviera Orchard: “There are tons of twists and turns — even with the name. I was figuring it out in real time. I appreciate everyone who gave me the grace to make mistakes and figure it out and also to be forgiving with myself through that. It’s a learning curve.”
The Sussex surname: “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.”
Working motherhood: “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.”
Why she shut down The Tig in 2017: “Well, I loved The Tig, but I certainly love my husband more. So that was a choice I made at the time, and I wouldn’t change that for a second. My husband met me when I had The Tig, and I see this spark in his eye when he sees me doing the thing that I was doing when he first met me. It’s almost like a honeymoon period again because it’s exactly how it was in the beginning when he’d watch me scribbling away, writing newsletters, fine-tuning edits and just really being in the details of it. I think he loves watching as much as I love doing that creative process. It’s just been fun. This is who I’ve always been.”
WLM isn’t comparable to Suits: “I was never really in front of the camera like this,” she says. Reflecting on the legal drama — which became one of Netflix’s most-streamed shows in 2023 — she adds: “It’s a time capsule for me — I still have the pencil skirt from the first episode! That’s the one thing I kept.” She remains close to costars like Abigail Spencer and is excited to see the upcoming Suits LA on Peacock: “I love that it gets a new breath of fresh air.”
As Ever & a new podcast: With Love, Meghan also highlights her own product line, which will be available on asever.com. Meghan has hinted that her signature jam will be among the offerings, set to launch this spring. Also launching this spring: her new podcast with Lemonada Media. She’s back on Instagram too — for the first time in years. “When I was last on social media, Boomerang was the thing. Instagram Stories didn’t even exist. So it’s been a minute.”
She doesn’t identify as an influencer or a tradwife. “I see myself as an entrepreneur and a female founder and if the brand ends up influential, then that’s great.” She also doesn’t consider herself a “tradwife”: “I like being able to do a hybrid,” she says. Chinese food delivery is a favorite, “but even when I get takeout, I will try to plate it beautifully,” says Meghan. She encourages others to strive for balance, not perfection, despite her show’s beautiful imagery. “The series is about doing what you can do and doing it with love.”
Date nights with Harry: “We go to a lot of dinners, and not just in people’s homes or private rooms; we just go into the restaurant. I really love that we can just have fun.”
Why she filmed at someone else’s home: “I wanted to protect that safe haven. We’re a close-knit family, and I love those moments — putting Lili down for a nap, having lunch together, having sacred time together at the end of the day. Our kitchen is where Mama just cooks for the family, and with a crew of 80-plus people, that’s a lot of people to have in your house!”
Making breakfast for her family: “I’m up before my kids are, so I’m normally up at 6:30, and then I get them up and dressed for the day, and we go downstairs. I love making breakfast for my family. My husband and Archie both love fried eggs. There’s a lot of bacon around here. And then sometimes you don’t have time for all that, and you just put a frozen waffle in the toaster and call it a day. And there’s no shame in that either.”
Having a daughter: “Being able to have my own little girl, as I’ve spent so much of my life championing the rights of girls and women, and to be able to see this as a multigenerational story — Archie is of course included in that, my husband is of course included in that — but I love the heritage feeling of it and knowing this is something that I can create in front of my daughter and teach her what it’s like to be a working mom. This is something that hopefully can be part of her legacy too.”
She & Harry have “day dates” too: Day dates are where they share a quiet lunch together. In true parent fashion, the evenings include “nightcap recaps” — unwinding with a drink as they chat about their day and make lunch boxes. “I think all parents in this phase with kids the same age know it’s rinse and repeat,” she says. If there’s time, they’ll catch up on TV together. “We love Shrinking; we just finished Black Doves, and we’re excited for the new season of The White Lotus.”
They love Shrinking? I’m always surprised when people have a high tolerance for Jason Segel. I wonder what she thinks about this season of The White Lotus so far and now I want to know what Harry thought about last season. Anyway, this was all fine – she was pushing back on some deranger-narratives and I especially liked the part about how she doesn’t consider herself a tradwife or influencer. What she’s doing is genuinely different, simply because there are so many eyes on her already, and because she’s investing in other businesses and investing in herself. As for the “honeymoon period” – I think they’ve always been in the honeymoon period.
My one minor quibble is that Meghan can get sort of Gwyneth-y sometimes, especially when she’s quoting other people to talk about herself? At various points in this interview, Meghan talks about her girlfriends (and she has so many good female friends) and how happy they are to see her doing the show or whatever. It’s very “my friends say that I’m amazing.” In that way, it reminds me of how some people thought The Cut did Meghan dirty back in 2022 – they did in a way, but it’s also just how Meghan talks about herself.
Cover courtesy of People, additional photos courtesy of Netflix.
