Martha Stewart is not only making room in the lifestyle space for Meghan Markle — she’s giving the duchess her blessing.
During a recent interview with Extra‘s Billy Bush at the luxe Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Festival in the Bahamas, Stewart shared her appreciation that Markle “wants to become a brand like Martha Stewart,” as Bush said.
“I just read that today,” Stewart replied, laughing. “I’m flattered.” As for the advice she’d give to the Suits alum, she stated: “Produce good products that work and will help the homemaker have a nicer life. That’s what it’s all about.”
While Stewart has been synonymous with everything domestic for decades, Markle is reportedly in the process of launching her own lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.
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“I think in America, she is … tapping into the Martha Stewart vibe, the sort of accomplished hostess with the mostess,” royal commentator Richard Kay told the Daily Mail‘s Palace Confidential last week.
While Markle herself has yet to comment on her new venture — besides her initial announcement on Instagram earlier this month — she has worked in the lifestyle industry for years, running her own blog, The Tig, before shutting it down during her relationship with now-husband Prince Harry. Since stepping down from their duties as senior royals in 2020, the Sussexes have wasted no time in building their own brands, including their Archewell Foundation and Markle’s Archetypes podcast. The couple — who wed in 2018 and share son Archie, 4, and daughter Lilibet, 2 — also signed a years-long deal with Netflix.
News about Markle’s latest company comes amid Kate Middleton’s announcement that she has cancer. While the Princess of Wales — who has been married to Prince William since 2011 — is dealing with her own medical treatment, King Charles III is also fighting his own battle with the disease, which Buckingham Palace announced in February. Charles’ ex-sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson, who was previously married to his brother Prince Andrew, is battling her own cancer diagnosis as well.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.