Meghan Markle’s latest Netflix venture, With Love, Meghan, promises to inspire audiences with groundbreaking homemaking tips.
However, if the debut episode is any indication, the show leans more toward unintentional comedy than true innovation. From transferring pretzels from one bag to another to presenting questionable pasta recipes, Meghan’s foray into the lifestyle space has left the internet buzzing—and not necessarily in a positive way. In the first episode, Meghan showcases her hosting skills as she prepares for a visit from her friend and makeup artist, Daniel Martin. While her enthusiasm is commendable, the execution is underwhelming in ways that viewers couldn’t ignore.
In addition to arranging flowers and making truffle popcorn, she attempts to elevate her hosting game by taking Trader Joe’s peanut butter pretzel nuggets out of their original packaging and placing them into a plastic bag labeled "peanut butter pretzels." The internet wasted no time mocking this move. One viral post captured the absurdity perfectly: “I’m so glad Meghan Markle has a new show on Netflix where I can watch her take pretzels out of a labeled bag, put them into a new bag, and label it again.” Podcaster Zack Peter also joined in on the fun, sarcastically suggesting that Meghan labeled the bag “just in case Daniel is allergic to peanut butter—despite it being his favorite snack.”
The real pièce de résistance of the episode, however, was Meghan’s pasta recipe. At first glance, it seemed like a harmlessly simple dish. However, eagle-eyed internet sleuths quickly discovered that her “original” recipe bore a striking resemblance to one published by none other than Martha Stewart. A reader of Lainey Gossip pointed out that the recipe, which has been on Martha’s website since at least 2013, was recently updated with a cheeky subheading: “The Original and the Best.” Whether it was a coincidence or a subtle dig at Meghan’s attempt at reinvention remains unclear, but given Martha Stewart’s reputation, many suspected a touch of well-timed shade. One commenter noted, “Yep, I made that recipe back in 2013,” while another quipped, “Nothing is original with her. Do you think they added ‘The Original and the Best’ after Meghan’s show? Go get her, Martha.”
To make matters worse, Meghan’s execution of the dish wasn’t exactly flawless. She reportedly used one cup less water than required, resulting in pasta that, as one viewer put it, “must have been like eating rubber.” Social media users had a field day imagining guests trying to eat the dish with a straight face while attempting not to choke.
This entire debacle raises some important questions: Does Meghan Markle actually cook? Does she genuinely entertain guests, or is this all just an elaborate performance for the cameras? Given her and Prince Harry’s status, it’s hard to believe they don’t have a full staff handling these tasks behind the scenes. Yet here she is, positioning herself as the millennial Martha Stewart—minus the credibility, expertise, or charm. If she truly wants to be taken seriously as a lifestyle icon, she may need to bring something fresh to the table—literally.
No one is saying Meghan Markle can’t have a cooking show, but With Love, Meghan currently feels less like the arrival of a modern Ina Garten and more like an out-of-touch attempt at domesticity—one pretzel bag at a time. Meanwhile, somewhere on her picturesque New England farm, Martha Stewart is likely sipping a perfectly chilled glass of wine, watching it all unfold, and thinking to herself, “Bless her heart.”
