Bethenny Frankel has offered her own hot take on why Meghan Markle is struggling so much with her public image right now, and she’s blaming the former Suits star’s “lack of identity.” 2025 hasn’t exactly gone Meghan’s way so far, with virtually her every move earning widespread criticism, from hers and Prince Harry’s response to the LA fires to our first look at her upcoming Netflix show.
Taken on their own, all Meghan’s actions, PR moves, and social media posts are pretty innocuous — making a bright and sunny cookery series, renaming her wellness brand, posting on Instagram about how she got a young Billie Eilish fan some free swag — but when put together Frankel believes they reveal the big issue at the root of the Duchess of Sussex’s problems: that she doesn’t know what persona she’s supposed to be projecting.
“Meghan Markle can’t win for losing,” the Real Housewives of New York City vet opined in a TikTok video (reshared by Page Six). “I think the reason [Markle] can’t win for losing is that there is a lack of identity and understanding as to exactly who she is to the audience.”
Frankel went on to say that she thinks Meghan has been attempting to pivot so drastically in the face of backlash that it’s become another stick to beat her with as her brand oscillates between presenting her as “perfect” — i.e. the glossiness of new Netflix show With Love, Meghan — and her more “unfiltered” content produced for her Instagram account.
“Since [Harry and Meghan] left the monarchy, they’ve never been able to really get their footing because there’s an identity issue,” Frankel concluded.
“She doesn’t claim to be perfect”: Meghan Markle defended after Bethenny Frankel’s criticism
Frankel’s hot take soon gained steam online, with many thinking she had hit the issue spot-on. In the wake of Frankel’s frank assessment going viral, though, a source supposedly close to production on With Love, Meghan alleged to Page Six that establishing her “real” identity is exactly what Meghan is trying to do with this new series.
“Nobody knows who she really is,” argued a “TV insider” when defending Markle. “[The world] created this image of who they think she is. She doesn’t claim to be perfect. That’s what the gist of the show is — she’s just having fun.”
This insider’s comments echo exactly what Meghan’s friend, and With Love, Meghan guest star, Mindy Kaling has said about the show and the duchess herself, so it certainly does seem like this show really is intended to be a major rebrand for Meghan’s image. Much in the same way as her wellness company has just been rebranded.
The big question now is… will enough people watch the series in order for this PR face-lift to take effect? After the dwindling impact of the Sussexes’ last few streaming projects, that’s really not a given. It’s tough to rebrand yourself from top to bottom if no one is actually watching you do it. Meghan will be hoping all eyes will be on her — preferably with love, not hate — when With Love, Meghan premieres on Netflix this March 4.
Published: Feb 24, 2025 08:48 am