Meghan Markle’s under-the-radar friendship with Khloe Kardashian

One under-the-radar friendship Meghan Markle has with a certain Kardashian has been quietly simmering away unnoticed.

The Duchess of Sussex’s inner circle is a rather famous one, boasting the likes of Oprah, Chrissy Teigen, and Mindy Kaling.

However, since the breakdown of her relationship with former best friend Jessica Mulroney, Meghan seems to have introduced a new friend into the fold, and it’s none other than Khloé Kardashian.

Sharing an image on Instagram, Khloé confirmed that she’s part of Meghan’s inner Hollywood circle as she gave fans a glimpse of a gift basket she received from the lifestyle maven.

Yet their friendship extends far beyond a jar of honey – as high-profile women who have built their careers in the public eye, their similarities run much deeper. 

Khloé and Meghan may appear to come from entirely different worlds, one the Hollywood reality TV dynasty, the other the royal outsider turned duchess, but beneath the glossy surface lies an unexpected friendship.

Both born and raised in Los Angeles, Khloé has built her own empire off the back of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, transforming herself from supporting sibling to global brand in her own right, while Meghan has risen to fame by marrying into the Royal Family.

When it comes to promoting their personal empires, the two women are strikingly alike. Both have mastered the art of using their star power to flog products directly to their loyal audiences, and neither is shy about it. From Khloé’s global Good American clothing line and protein-packed popcorn to Meghan’s lifestyle brand As Ever

Meghan and Khloé have carved out a space in the ever-growing podcasting world, using their star power to front their own shows, each dedicated to inspiration and empowerment

Their popularity has been shaped by the same forces: the hunger for success, the blurring of public and private and their constant quest for fame.

Their careers, too, reveal striking parallels. Meghan’s gift basket was more than a token, it was a teaser of her lifestyle venture As Ever.

Khloé, for her part, has become a seasoned entrepreneur with Good American and a string of wellness-focused projects, including a line of protein popcorn. Both women know how to monetise their names, turning celebrity into commerce with effortless precision.

Even their online personas seem to echo one another. Before deleting her personal Instagram account when she joined the Royal Family, Meghan was known for sharing uplifting quotes and mantras, while Khloé has built much the same reputation in the digital age with her own motivational snippets.

Motherhood is yet another thread that ties them together. Khloé is raising two young children, seven-year-old True and three-year-old Tatum, as is Meghan of course, with six-year-old Prince Archie and four-year-old Princess Lilibet.

And then there is podcasting. Meghan, having already dipped her toe into the medium with Archetypes, has returned with a new project, Confessions of a Female Founder, interviewing women who have built their own companies and brands.

Khloé has launched Khloé in Wonder Land, an intimate series in which she speaks to the people who inspire her most. The subject matter may differ slightly, but the intent is the same, to explore resilience, ambition, and the power of reinvention.

Khloé was among the billions of viewers who watched Harry and Meghan tie the knot at their fairy-tale ceremony at Windsor Castle, glued to the coverage and celebrating the couple’s historic moment. Taking to Instagram she posted a congratulatory message, praising the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex

Both have laid bare their lives in headline-making reality TV shows. Khloé grew up in front of the cameras on Keeping Up With the Kardashians, the show that catapulted her famous family into global superstardom. Meghan, on the other hand, found herself stepping into the reality TV arena much later with her Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan

Khloé has long been known for peppering her Instagram with motivational mantras, encouraging her millions of followers to embrace positivity, resilience and self-love. Meghan also once had a soft spot for a good quote, and before shutting down her personal social media accounts upon joining the royal family, frequently shared empowering messages to Instagram

At their ambitious core, Khloé and Meghan are two women cut from the same Los Angeles cloth who are ultimately both masters of self-reinvention.

Their friendship may have been revealed by nothing more than a honey jar in a gift basket, but it speaks to something larger. 

Because if there’s one thing both women understand better than most, it’s that life, friendship and business are all, ultimately, about the same thing, keeping people watching.