The lucrative idyll of Meghan Markle’s relationship with Netflix has come to an end. A few days ago, it was announced that As Ever, the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle brand, would become completely independent, after having previously benefited from financial backing from the streaming giant. However, there is conflicting information about the true cause of this separation. As soon as the news was confirmed, a source from Meghan’s team, the wife of Prince Harry, seemed to suggest that ending the collaboration was Meghan’s idea and not Netflix’s.
This individual, according to The Sun, stated that Meghan Markle felt “held back” by the commercial agreement between the two parties. “Netflix has been a good partner, but she had been wanting to take the brand global for some time, although she has been held back by Netflix’s team, more cautious.” During that arduous journey, the former actress has gone so far as to rename her brand and plagiarize the coat of arms of a town in Mallorca. All while facing genuine storms of criticism.
The alternative version from the streaming platform did not take long to surface. From Netflix’s headquarters in Los Gatos, California, a respectful statement was first published. In it it stated that “Meghan’s passion for elevating everyday moments in a beautiful but simple way inspired the creation of the As Ever brand, and we are pleased to have helped bring that vision to life.”
This week, however, a company spokesperson was more blunt in asserting that Netflix “wasn’t happy” with the performance of Meghan Markle’s brand. “They didn’t like that anyone really cared about the brand, so when they thought about creating As Ever zones in Netflix House, there was no interest in it,” the entertainment giant stated.
Meghan Markle: Little More Than Jam
Few companies can boast a more endearing origin story than Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand. During the pandemic, the wife of Prince Harry began making jam. After a gift basket containing her homemade jam made its way into the hands of Netflix director Bela Bajaria, they asked Meghan: “Is there material here for a television show?” During her Time100 summit appearance last spring, the American said: “At first I hadn’t thought it was something I would want to share in that way.”
Netflix persisted and convinced the duchess. The two seasons of With Love, Meghan and the Christmas special were shot in the spring of 2024 and released in March, August, and December of last year. And then the lifestyle business arrived. When her As Ever brand opened its doors in April 2025, the jam occupied a prominent place alongside floral decorations and cookie mixes. From July, wine was added, then tea, candles, and bookmarks.
The Duchess of Sussex in With Love, Meghan.
Last year it was announced that Netflix would be Meghan’s business partner in the venture, but that partnership no longer exists. Essentially, the streaming giant invested money, but the brand struggled, and this month the project was officially ended. As a Netflix source quoted by the Daily Mail said: “We expected there to be more than jam.”
Hollywood sources insist that the relationship between Netflix and Meghan Markle has been very difficult since last autumn. A sensational report published this week in Variety asserts that the platform “has definitively ended with the Sussexes”. This is very bad news for Meghan and Harry, who have an exclusivity deal with Netflix. If the platform does not greenlight the couple’s production company’s projects, Archewell Productions, their income source will dry up.
Harry, Meghan and Their Fall from Grace on Netflix
This purge of the Sussexes by Netflix casts doubt on the viability of all their media ambitions moving forward. The company’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, has stopped following both Meghan and Harry on Instagram. The same has happened with its creative director, Bela Bajaria. Both had previously shown extremely positive sentiment toward Meghan, and Sarandos had even called her a “rock star.” Now, however, the company states that the couple’s content “does not fit with Stranger Things or Bridgerton”.
It is a notable fall from grace for Harry and Meghan, who were very close friends with Ted Sarandos. In fact, the businessman let them stay at his Santa Barbara mansion before they bought their own home in Montecito. Sarandos led the team that agreed to sign them a $100 million deal in September 2020, following the Megxit. That deal was crucial to their financial independence. Meghan also had a close relationship with Sarandos’s wife, Nicole Avant, an influential woman whose father was the president of Motown Records. But Avant has also stopped following Meghan and As Ever on Instagram.
The Prince Harry with Meghan Markle.
To explain what went wrong in the billion-dollar deal between the two parties, one must consider their differences in the direction of the brand. The entire expansion of As Ever was to be sold thanks to the sophistication and elegance of the Duchess of Sussex. But Meghan Markle has not been willing to write a cookbook or lend her name to be printed on napkins and teacups.
Add to this the poor audience numbers for the second season of With Love, Meghan, and the little success of As Ever in sales. As a source told the Daily Mail, “the product didn’t receive the reception people expected. The failure was more due to the business model not working than to Meghan’s difficult character. Although I’ve heard it was a bit of both.”
