Is Netflix actually pulling the strings of Meghan’s business As Ever? Eyebrows have been raised after she revealed her ‘business partner’ has a massive 80 staff working for the brand… while she only has a ‘small and mighty team’ of ‘savvy women’

When Meghan Markle first stepped into the world of the Royal Family, she liked to portray herself as a UN ambassador and do-gooder environmentalist.

But for the past few months, the Duchess of Sussex has been reinventing herself yet again.

Through her latest podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, she is starting to show what she has been really focusing on these past few years – making money. 

In the show Meghan eagerly sits down to swap business tips with female founders and friends who have started their own companies.

She is clearly relishing in growing her new lifestyle brand As Ever, which has been promoted by her recent Netflix cookery show With Love, Meghan.

But on Tuesday, Meghan revealed a piece of information about her business partnership with the streaming giant that has raised a few eyebrows.

She said that Netflix had ‘an entire team devoted’ to As Ever, which numbered an eye-watering 80 staff members.

And, perhaps tellingly, Meghan unveiled that she only had a ‘small and mighty team’ for her office, which she later described as ‘savvy women’.

The disparity between the two ‘partners’ in the number of staff will cause some royal watchers to wonder what team is really the driving force behind As Ever.

Meghan made the comments on the podcast of Emma Grede, a London-born CEO who genuinely knows business as she is one of America’s richest self-made women, with a net worth of around $400m.

Grede is the brains behind the business ventures of several members of the Kardashian family, including brands Good American, Skims, and Safely. 

In their conversation, Meghan discussed the launch of her lifestyle brand, and bragged about how its signature raspberry jam, which she calls ‘fruit spread’, sold out only 45 minutes after launch.

She also does the tried and true method many ‘self made’ entrepreneurs do when they make it big, and talked of her humble business beginnings, which allegedly started when she began selling homemade scrunchies for $1 at school.

At no point in the 90-minute podcast does Meghan mention that what really catapulted her to stardom was marrying into a very famous British family. 

Nevertheless, the podcast contains several illuminating details about the Duchess’ business relationship with Netflix.

She talked about how she was initially planning on selling her products ‘locally, maybe be at a farmer’s markets’, but eventually decided to opt for partnering with the global entertainment giant.

Meghan admitted the decision to team up with Netflix took her business to a ‘completely different level’.

Netflix’s consumer products team has in the past created product collections for its exclusive shows such as Bridgerton, Squid Game, and Stranger Things.

But Meghan said things were different for her because there was not already an established brand, and it instead had to be developed with Netflix ‘as we are going’.

Although when Meghan’s first line of products were released in March, including raspberry spread, honey, herbal tea and ready made crepe mix – they all received a less than stellar review by Daily Mail’s FEMAIL team. 

However she has not let the negative reviews get her down, and says with Season 2 of the show she plans on ‘really maximising the opportunity’ to make her content and commerce meet ‘in a really unique way’.

It should be remembered that the initial Netflix deal that was signed by Meghan and Harry in 2020 was reportedly worth £78 million over a five-year period. The couple promised to create ‘content that informs but also gives hope’.

Their 2022 tell-all documentary, Harry & Meghan, was a runaway success, racking up 97.7 million hours of viewing in its first week.

However, it was followed by Heart Of Invictus which, although a worthy look at the work of Harry’s charity for injured servicemen and women, was one of Netflix’s worst performers of 2023.

Last year’s Polo, a behind-the-scenes documentary about the sport which barely featured the Sussexes, did not chart.

Those who do business with Netflix believe the upcoming new deal will be a significantly reduced offer compared to their current agreement, and will focus entirely on Meghan – this time without a generous upfront payment. 

But Meghan seems more than happy with the current arrangement, telling Grede on Tuesday: ‘We have been in partnership with Netflix for five years already, my husband and I.

‘So there is familiarity and comfort, and while that is just on the content side, not on the commerce side, these are relationships and friendships now. 

‘So I am working more so with the other building at Netflix. 

‘It is still the same group of people, it is still the same points of contact that I can reach out to. I love having a friendship and a nice rapport with Bela Bajaria who has been such a champion of both the series and of this brand. 

‘And it is only with me sending her fruit baskets and jams that she said “this is a show”, so I think that changes it because it is not as if you are jumping into it with people you do not know.

When asked about how she compromises with Netflix, she said: ‘At the end of the day what I appreciate that in the contract they understand that this is my vision. 

‘And also the success of the brand I believe is rooted in the fact that you can feel when I am involved with something.

‘The fact that they trust my final judgement is great, in what I want to put out there.’

Meghan added that she loves to be involved in the creative process and the ‘details’.

And when asked about her involvement in the ‘less sexy’ parts of the business, such as the finances, Meghan here too was adamant she was involved just as much as Netflix.

She said: ‘I am very involved in that part. I think the misconception is that when you have a very large machine, and a very powerful and influential machine, like a partner in Netflix, then you have me and all of the attention that brings. 

‘The two of us together make an incredible partnership.’

There has already been some tongue-wagging at the sneaky marketing tactics used by the pair at As Ever’s first product drop in March.

When all eight of the products on sale were sold out in just 45 minutes, some suggested they had deliberately understocked so that it would create scarcity and make headlines – making their products seem more desirable. 

When this point was put to her by Grede, Meghan strenuously denied planning it that way. 

It is not yet known, of course, just how many items were produced, so the jury is still out on whether that is impressive, or if it was just a clever PR stunt. 

As Ever has a new batch of products set to release on Friday, June 20. Only time will tell if the brand yet again massively underestimates demand ‘by accident’. 

Meghan’s powerful influence on shopping cannot be disputed, and the move into e-commerce has been an easy win for her – she will be getting at least ten per cent of sales – and a welcome contribution to the Sussex family coffers.

Harry, who inherited millions from his mother and grandmother – memorably complained to Oprah in their tell-all interview in 2021 that his family had ‘literally cut me off financially’.

Royal accounts made public shortly afterwards showed that Charles had in fact continued to support the couple until the summer of 2020 from a £4.4 million Clarence House pot used to support his two sons and their families.

As well as making stacks of cash, Meghan seems to be thoroughly enjoying her newfound business creation, despite Netflix seemingly pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

The streamer seems likely to sign a new deal with the Sussexes in September, despite her latest podcast getting terrible reviews.

James Marriott of The Times gave the podcast 1/5, writing that ‘receiving business advice from a Californian multimillionaire who owes her fortune to marrying a prince is as illuminating as you would expect’ and that at one point in the conversation he ‘was seized by an urge to beat my head against the wall and foundationally re-architect my skull.’

One well-placed source revealed to the Daily Mail’s Chief Showbiz writer Alison Boshoff in May why Netflix remains so keen on Meghan.

The source said: ‘What people do not understand about the situation is that [Netflix CEO] Ted Sarandos is a massive, massive fan of Meghan personally. He calls her “the rock star”. There is no way that her deal does not get renewed.’

The source added: ‘Ted is in the Meghan business and that is not about to change. He is all in.’

Mr Sarandos has even backed her in public, telling Variety in March that the Sussexes have been ‘overly dismissed,’ and said specifically that Meghan ‘is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture’.

He added, gushingly, that ‘people are fascinated with Meghan Markle.’ 

The numbers show that her TV series, With Love, Meghan, had 12.6 million hours streamed in its first week, just squeaking into the Netflix global top ten that week. It was number seven in the UK in its first week before dropping from view.

It was also not a critical success, panned for featuring lots of sprinkling of edible dried flowers on just about everything: ice cream, hummus, cakes and in drinks.

Sources, however, say she was delighted with the series.

To complicate matters further, last week it was announced Meghan and Netflix have grown closer still, due to the fact they have now hired their new ‘director of communications’ from the company.

Emily Robinson worked for Netflix and was responsible for promoting the highly controversial drama The Crown from season three to six. 

She oversaw global publicity for notorious storylines such as Harry in Nazi fancy dress, Diana’s Panorama interview and ‘ghost’ Diana talking to the Queen. 

Robinson is an experienced communications professional, having studied at Washington State University, and working at NBC Universal, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel before Netflix. 

It is now her job to get Meghan’s point of view spread across the airwaves as she continues her quest to become a business titan of the lifestyle world.

But she might have a challenge on her hands, as long-time Meghan watchers will know that not all business dealings with the Duchess tend to end well. 

Her and Harry’s reported $20 million deal with Spotify, which was signed in 2020, ended in tears in 2023.

As the deal fell apart, Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetisation Bill Simmons memorably called the pair ‘f***ing grifters’.

And in the years since they have left the company, some staff at the company have come forward to claim that working with the Duchess was so difficult people needed ‘therapy’, according to an expose by US society bible Vanity Fair in January.

However, this isn’t Meghan’s first foray into the lifestyle scene.

This is actually her second time in trying to become a brand, similar to Gwyneth Paltrow’s wildly successful Goop, as before she married Prince Harry in 2018, she founded a blog called The Tig.

She ran the ‘passion project’ for almost three years while starring in the US drama series Suits.

It became a well-known platform where Meghan shared personal insights alongside content on travel, food, fashion and dining recommendations.

While running The Tig, Meghan met Cory Vitiello, a Toronto chef and restaurant owner, with a notable clientele.

After dining at his restaurant with her Suits co-stars, she wrote an enthusiastic review on her blog, calling him ‘my favourite chef’.

Cory began dating Meghan after ending his previous relationship. He introduced her to ‘everyone’ in Toronto, while the couple rented a three-bedroom home in the Annex district.

Much like Prince Harry, who only made a brief appearance at the end of With Love, Meghan, Cory never appeared on The Tig.

She closed it in 2017, shortly before announcing her engagement to Harry.

Nevertheless, despite her bumpy business career so far, it seems with the help of Netflix this attempt at success is going better for Meghan. 

All eyes are now set on the next few months to see what happens when the two parties sit down to sign another deal.