For the Duchess of Sussex, the path back to her lifestyle roots was anything but straightforward.
The “Suits” star and soon-to-be purveyor of fruit preserves, formerly Meghan Markle, got candid about her latest entrepreneurial era which will soon include Netflix series “With Love, Meghan” and her newly unveiled As Ever brand. In an interview with People published Monday, Meghan said that “there are tons of twists and turns” in her newest ventures — including the naming controversy over her brand.
“I was figuring it out in real time,” she added.
When Meghan announced the launch of lifestyle brand As Ever in February, she explained in an Instagram video that the name meant “as it’s always been” or “in the same way as always.” Ironically, the same couldn’t be said about the brand name itself.
Less than a year ago, Meghan teased the launch of American Riviera Orchard, a lifestyle brand that at the time was described as “a reflection of “everything [Meghan] loves — family, cooking, entertaining and home décor.” American Riviera Orchard — a nod to Santa Barbara where Meghan and Prince Harry call home — soft-launched with a lineup of fruit jams which it sent to A-listers. Months later, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office hit pause on the business, reportedly rejecting Meghan’s application to trademark the brand’s name. American Riviera Orchard “is primarily geographically descriptive,” the trademark office said, according to Vanity Fair.
In February, the 43-year-old Duchess and mother of two explained to followers that she secured the name As Ever in 2022 and said the pivot from the old brand felt less limiting. Speaking to People, Meghan didn’t dwell on the name change. Instead she turned her focus on “everyone who gave me the grace to make mistakes and figure it out and also to be forgiving with myself through that,” she said.
She added: “It’s a learning curve.”
Meghan, who lives in the affluent community of Montecito in Santa Barbara’s south coast, makes her lifestyle reentry eight years after shuttering her blog the Tig. She also pivots back to the screen after briefly dabbling in the podcast space with Spotify’s “Archetypes.”
On the cusp of a new chapter, Meghan spoke to People about the “wonderful feeling” of being “able to find yourself again.” Meghan married Prince Harry in 2018 and living among the British royals proved troubling for her. She spoke about racism, loneliness and her treatment by tabloids in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
Five years since stepping down as a senior member of the royal family, Meghan said she now sees herself “as an entrepreneur and a female founder.” In addition to Netflix, Meghan said she can also count children Archie and Lilibet among collaborators. The kids and Prince Harry often visited the set of “With Love, Meghan,” she said. The reality series, which debuts Tuesday on Netflix, sees the Duchess tap into her passion for cooking and hosting with a variety of celebrity guests including Mindy Kaling and chef Roy Choi.
“I hope that when they get old enough, they feel really proud that they were part of the beginning of this with me,” Meghan added.
