With Love, Meghan - criticisms and genuine concern for her mental health

[Lavenderfarmcottage]

I am probably going to be flogged for posting this and chased down the dark laneways of Mumsnet as bystanders yell “Shame Shame Shame”.

I weighed in yesterday about a thread on Meghan and her new Netflix show. I made some criticisms about the trailer and certain cliche’s in the way it was produced. Hypocritical of me to be posting this but I feel guilty and have reflected. I am actually looking forward to watching it on Netflix and my criticisms were pretty minor and not exclusive to her show - it’s a common issue I have.

Meghan has struggled with mental health because of criticism. The reaction to ‘With Love… Meghan’ has been fairly brutal.

I think it would be really good if we refrained from saying anything negative about the series or Meghan Markle. That’s not the point of this thread.

I want to know if you think the criticisms have gone too far. The Princess of Wales is not on the scene and we are protective of her rightly so. That leaves Meghan as media fodder though.

Do you think it’s time Meghan and Harry were given a break ? I do. I think we’ve been far too harsh and the criticisms have gotten out of hand.

I think we also forget the cultural relevance. If we went into the homes or Gwyneth, Julia Roberts etc and I would probably feel the divide too. American culture doesn’t apologise for wealth and hollywoood is highly competitive.

Having a confident demeanour, throwing your head back Julia Roberts style when you laugh and unapologetically selling $$$ vagina products like Gwyneth Paltrow is how it over there. People talk loudly and confidently and are polished and rehearsed especially in the
Competitive world of Hollywood…

Are we all being too hard ?

They were rumoured to have been paid $100m by Netflix. Their work product is definitely up for critique. Same with the podcasts and interviews. They choose to do them and presumably want people discussing the content. It’s not positive or sympathetic but those kinds of jobs are done for the public to read.

Did you know that Princess Mako of Japan, handed back her title and now lives with her husband in NYC in a 2 bedroom house? She works in an art gallery while her husband worked as a paralegal then passed the bar. She’s been spotted taking the bus and shopping at normal shops like Bath and Bodyworks like the commoner that she wishes to live as.

Had Harry not made stupid statements about the Taliban etc and lived a private life, he could have had a more normal life but he’s chosen to become an even bigger celebrity that he was and that invites scrutiny.

There are people who have gone too far eg conspiracies about the children but if you’re going to lecture people on things like using social media then you need to make damn sure that you criticise the people who also go too far in support of you too or you look like a hypocrite who will say whatever for money. They aren’t the only celebrities to do this eg Taylor Swift has a crazy private jet mileage but she doesn’t attractive same anger because she doesn’t preach that point to the general public.

He’s clearly not worked out why “never complain, never explain” was for the best. The more you speak, the more material there is for cross referencing and the inconsistencies make people look less special.

Agree totally.

But the reasons she is famous are personal.

She has no background in cooking. She was a fairly minor actress. She is known because she married the 5th in line to the British throne, left her role after about 5 minutes and proceeded to slag off the family that made her globally famous. Now she's selling a show called 'With Love, Meghan', that purports to show some sort of insight into her life, even though it's filmed in a rented property. She is not a cook of any sort, so she's basically selling herself. So of course the criticisms will be personal.

Oh come now. How can you resist finding out how to make a basic sponge cake from a world renowned chef? I think you are a secret fangirl really...you're just being stubborn. Team Meghan or Team Kate?? Got to be one or the other it's the rule!

Bashing them is a sport, isn't it?

I think, "More power to them." I read Happy had a win in court against a tab for breaking into his messages. That's great!
Meghan isn't an elected official so I have no idea why Megan Mcain levied such brutal criticism to her over tbe show calling it, tone deaf and saying she should try to help people.
I think it's fairly bizarre to criticize them so much.
They seem lovely, do a lot for charity and deserve to have whatever life they want. They work for it after all.

What astounds me is I'm a big fan of princess Meghan, however, had it not been for the twenty 11 articles dm had on her (obsessed much) I would never had known she had a cookery TV show lol lol. Now I'm going to watch it definitely, I wouldn't have known about it but for the bombardment from the dm! Now im a fan as i said before, however, her detractors seem to be her biggest fans. All this "hate watching" is going to send viewing figures through the roof!!!!!!

This is the thing with these meghan obsessive, s they jump on points made by other obsessive and convince themselves meghan actually did or say that and wind themselves up, by ho dare meghan think she Haa equal ranking wit William and kate ,when she, s never said anything like that it's bizarre.

She hasn't shown much business sense to date!

Criticism is fine, abuse is not.

If she can’t handle the criticism then she doesn’t have to make any type of public media and live as a private citizen.

In turn I can chose to not watch her. I find her demeanor insincere, and she adds nothing new to my life.

The title is naff in the extreme though, love to the bank balance, maybe. I liked her, but this incarnation is flaky and money grubbing when they have loads. She's no better than Brooklyn Beckham, who rightly takes a cap load of criticism.

I've hidden those interminably repetitive royal boards. They're like a particularly tedious timewarp.

Fair enough when important issues come up: like the recent thread on AIBU querying precisely why the King and his petulant elder son are able to fleece the country and the NHS and all the while keep their finances opaque thanks to their exemption from the FOI act. Those issues affect everyone, are newsworthy, and are perhaps worthy of discussion.

Petty gossip about Meghan Markle's mental health and the minutiae of her daily doings is the reason the other board is there. And is the reason some of us stay well away from it.

💤

In what way? Catherine is way more popular than Meghan. Probably because she gets on with the life she chose - marrying for status. Rather than pretending to be some kind of wannabe feminist and incessantly whingeing about being hard done to.

I don't dislike them, I just have no respect for them.

My view is entirely based on their behaviour and their own words - as seen in their 6 part NF TV show, his book, interviews with Tom Bradbury, Anderson Cooper, Rebecca Barry, Stephen Colbert, Jonathan Haidt, Gabor Mate, Jane Pauley, Oprah, 12 part podcast episodes, interviews in The Cut, Variety, speeches at various events such as SXSW, The Me you Can't See etc.

I feel they've provided me with enough information to make some form of informed opinion about them. As a consequence I don't think much of them.

I hope this cooking show goes well for her and she enjoys it. Let's not pretend the only reason she got the opportunity to make it is solely due to who her husband's family is though. I'll maybe watch a bit of it, nothing in the trailer seems particularly inspiring to me though.

Brooklyn B is a major cut above Meghan. His cookery show may be pants but he is loyal to his family.and he's discreet and those are very worthy qualities to have.

Meanwhile 🤴 🥕 has to woo a Hollywood actress and break it to her that his palace is infact a 2 bedroom cottage.

She wasn't a Hollywood actress. Her only role of note was in a cable TV drama filmed in Toronto for budget reasons. I'm not knocking that, but she lived in a modest rented home and had a pretty unglamorous life before meeting Harry. It's also unlikely her acting career would have gone anywhere post 'Suits'. Look at the other cast. Hardly enjoying A list careers.

And the '2 bedroom cottage' you speak of was a Sir Christopher Wren designed building on the grounds of an actual royal palace, in one of the most exclusive areas of London, with top level security. And she was getting it for free.

Marrying into the royal family took her to levels of fame, wealth and status she could never have come close to on her own merits. It baffles me that some try to claim otherwise.

I haven't criticised Meghan (or the trailer really, beyond saying it reminded me of Pippa Middleton's entertaining book) but I think if you do interviews talking about your family and life, you open the door to comment. Obviously there's a line, but I don't think they can say it's not up for comment when they've said so much.
As opposed to how they've been with their children for example - they have been much more private, so I think they have more scope to say "no, that's too far, our children are not for public discussion".

Besides, I doubt she's upset by the level of discussion around the show. That isn't a dig at her, I imagine there are loads of people who'd kill for this much focus on a trailer.

Catherine doesn’t put herself in the public eye. She’s made no series, signed no book deals, she just gets on with the job.

However you’ve clearly forgotten the photoshopping scandal.

I don't believe any of that influenced their decision lol!

I feel 50/50 about this. I think they have done some ridiculous things and have behaved appallingly (especially the Oprah interview and so many occasions when they have done things and commented when it would have been so much better if they had just gone quiet) but from the get go the British press coverage about MM was absolutely disgusting. I was horrified when reading a lot of the stuff they were writing about her when we knew absolutely nothing at all about her and they were just in a fledgling relationship.

Had I read stuff like that about myself, I would have been very very badly affected indeed so I'm not sure quite how I feel about her.

Harry has behaved like a total dick so if she is looking to him to gauge how she should respond to things, he will have given her a bum steer.

But she doesn’t. There are many many celebs out there who get a lot of criticism. Especially via X and other anonymous social media platforms. I think they have to have tough skins, but that’s the nature of the beast. Anyone who puts themselves out there for the fame and money either just learn to suck up the criticisms, or they don’t. And we’ve all seen what happens to those who don’t - drink, drugs, suicide. So I don’t think the way she is treated is any worse or better than anyone else in the spotlight. I remember how people wrote about Cheryl Cole at the height of her fame. She got so much hatred thrown her way. She’s now stepped back, and because she keeps her life private, we hear very little about her.

exactly!

Fair point.

Catherine absolutely has put herself in the public eye.

This saint Catherine and sinful Meghan schtick is so tiresome.

A public figure is seeking yet more publicity to make themselves yet more money.
If she can’t take richly deserved ridicule then she would be choosing a quiet life with a low profile.
As regards what is or isn’t the norm in America well that has no bearing on what people think about this new nonsense over here. We can only speak for ourselves. If America loves it then that is up to them.
I am not even going to bother looking for my very tiniest violin for MM because there is not a violin in existence which could possibly be tiny enough.

@Choccyscofffy Sure but those opportunities (which are not that easy to come by- how many chefs have solo shows on Netflix?) should go to chefs no? If they are not chefs and then produce stuff that is risible then it's okay to laugh right?
Let's say in a 7-8 years Prince George gets a wildcard at Wimbledon when he's a mediocre tennis player, depriving someone of a place and then loses miserably. People will be critical and up in arms right? No one will say, ah but there's a 128 places and it's a tournament that happens every year, Wimbledon knows that he'll draw people in, and come on, poor kid, let's not slate him. In fact there would be absolute outrage. Rightly!