Authentic epiphany watching the trailer for “With love, Meghan”
New Year’s Day marked Meghan Markle’s triumphant return to social media after a considerable hiatus. Her Instagram post showed her breezing into 2025 – hair billowing in the wind, her petite frame ensconced in a lightweight, flowy ensemble. It seemed to reflect an authentic yearning for better things to come, but ominous clouds loomed on the horizon.
Firestorm on the horizon
Unbeknownst at the time, she was about to walk straight into an unprecedented firestorm. Why? Because alarmingly, fans did not show the love for her Netflix cooking show, With Love, Meghan. Ratioed completely, it raked up a storm of negativity.
Days later, in an attempt to show empathy during the California wildfires, she careened into yet another firestorm. This time, social media users were incensed by her presence when she was suspiciously spotted volunteering with victims — allegedly with a film crew in tow. The resultant tinderbox of enraged vitriol ignited yet another unrelenting public relations furore — spontaneous combustion, as some might describe it.
Meghan’s year, barely two weeks in, was firmly in the realm of nightmare. Fortunately, her cooking show was moved to 4 March, sparing her more heartache.
A Candace Owens X post had initially alerted me to it – see below – I had to check out the trailer for myself. Yet, while everyone was trashing Meghan’s new cooking show, I somehow found myself intrigued.
Epiphany with love
And shock horror, I liked it. From a content-creation standpoint, I mustered much sympathy for her and the team. So much blood, sweat and tears go into producing content. It had also tickled my interest as it coincided with a personal epiphany.
I had always known that despite what people said about branding, Sparkles and fairy lights, was the right name for my website and proposed business idea. I had prayed about it extensively too.
Sparkles and fairy lights is a sparkly, yet incandescent vibe: a place where we celebrate womanhood, the creative life, rites of passage, writing, hope, faith and godly living. Where the generosity of the human spirit can thrive and the godly values of loving, serving and giving are celebrated.
It is home to the notion that quality time spent with loved ones should be jealously guarded, delicately communicating love. Personally, special events and gifts are the nexus of my heart’s tizz. These represent such tangible expressions of love for our nearest and dearest – all helping to foster and nurture relationships grounded in Christian faith.
And here popped up Meghan in the guise of the “tradwife” depicting conservative values, seen spending time and connecting with friends and family. Some British elements sparked a yearning for a glorious time spent there, while her floral arrangements, specifically the peonies, had this heart aflutter.
The pursuit of joy not perfection
It is not for nothing that I have been watching Noemi’s Scandish Home on YouTube enthralled by her home-making skills. Noemi adds those personal touches that just scream love for family. Her channel is about celebrating life in all its guises including eating and living well.
I have also just recently happened upon Lydia Elise Millen, a beautiful British rose with a striking resemblance to Liz Hurley. Her channel is distinctly more boujee and the feeling is luxe English-countryside living evoking a distinctly posh feeling. What is it with me and women who keep chickens?
As Meghan’s trailer revealed sunshine pouring in through the windows of a sunny California mansion, I was reminded of summer days and happy times. Meghan espousing the pursuit of joy not perfection hit the mood of my own heart right on the head.
So why were people hating on Meghan then? After pondering for a bit, it is safe to say that authenticity, or rather a lack thereof, could sum it all up. Speculation was rife – indeed, on X and YouTube mentions of plagiarism were taking root: soon other shows with similar names, aesthetics and even tag lines were unearthed.
Unfortunately, Meghan has seemingly garnered a reputation online for copying or cosplaying others. In years gone by, she had also gone to great lengths to portray herself as a feminist. It just did not feel like it was true to form.
Authentic Marchioness of Bath
As a consequence, it fuelled a different type of wildfire, which instantaneously blazed out of control. It emerged that Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath, has a cooking show bearing uncanny similarities to Meghan’s. And not only is she aristocracy, she is also half-Nigerian, something Meghan had been banging on about for some time.
From clips I saw, it turns out that what I love is Emma’s sophisticated, classy and elegant aesthetic. Yes, the mood for Sparkles can be encapsulated as such with a dash of playfulness, which Emma exudes in spades. Once highlighted, the similarities between Meghan’s trailer and the marchioness’s show were hard to ignore. It also became apparent that in the minds of a legion of new fans, Emma was worthy of the emulation.
Additionally, Meghan’s documented bust-ups with loved ones called the name of the show into question too. With artificial intelligence (AI) emerging as the decided flavour of the decade, most of us are braced for a barrage of AI-inspired content. As such the premium placed on the human touch and the value placed on authenticity has skyrocketed. In the midst of it all, somehow, Meghan’s show had fallen short.
2025 going forward
As for the drubbing Meghan received, let’s hope come March that things have changed. Although, I know she has since endured another setback, this time an article published by Vanity Fair. Relatively balanced, it did not hold back in some of its criticisms of Meghan, and did nothing to enhance the duchess’s reputation. I suspect 2025 may be a tough one to navigate for Meghan after all.
Personally, gratitude overflows that even though her show’s trailer had largely been panned and was plausibly inauthentic; it had sparked something profound in me.
Originality is nothing but judicious imitation.
VOLTAIRE
Considering Meghan’s ordeal, though she has not written anything herself, she may consider the sentiment and may yet beg to differ. Moreover, as content creation goes, inspiration can come from the weirdest of places – even a controversial streaming show.
No worries, I won’t be cooking up a storm any time soon, but I may just be creating a space where you can feel at home smelling the roses of life.
- The human value and capacity driving copywriting in 2025 - March 6, 2025
- Authenticity, professionalism and hope in a curated world - February 6, 2025
- Authentic epiphany watching the trailer for “With love, Meghan” - January 27, 2025
