Six years after stepping away from the British monarchy, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are discovering that American fame works differently. Complaints might get attention at first, but people move on quickly if there is nothing new.
Since stepping away from their royal roles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are finding things less welcoming. Instead of winning over Hollywood, they are seeing more people lose interest. Support for them is fading in both the entertainment world and their own neighborhood.
The Streaming Dream Dries Up
Their relationship with Netflix shows just how much things have changed. When they moved to California in 2020, they landed a huge $100 million deal. Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos even invited them to stay at his Santa Barbara home while their home was being repaired.
But things have changed. When Sarandos recently unfollowed Meghan and her lifestyle brand on Instagram, it sent a clear message. For someone in his role, it was a public sign that their partnership was over.
This split did not happen overnight. Executives at the streaming giant were surprised when the couple shared their biggest stories with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, rather than saving them for their own shows. Since then, their projects have not lived up to the high price. Their first 2023 documentary got attention, but later projects, like Harry’s polo documentary, did not connect with viewers. To make matters worse, those projects felt slightly out of touch with the moment.
When their original five-year contract ended last summer, it was quietly reduced. Meghan’s lifestyle brand, As Ever, has been hit hardest by this business setback.
A Jam-Packed PR Crisis
Switching from royal drama to selling home goods has not been easy, and As Ever seems to be struggling. The brand offers California-inspired tea, candles, wine, and jam, but it has not attracted much attention.
The brand’s main promotional effort, the lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, lost many viewers. Neither the second season nor the 2025 holiday special made it into Netflix’s top 1,000 shows, so Netflix decided not to renew it for a third season.
The situation is even worse with leftover products. Insiders say the brand has about S14 million worth of unsold goods. Some reports say Netflix’s Hollywood offices were full of extra jam jars, which were given to employees just to get rid of them. Not surprisingly, Netflix has ended its partnership with As Ever, leaving the Sussexes to handle the struggling business themselves.
A Chilly Reception in the American Riviera
This business setback is also affecting the couple on a personal level. When Harry and Meghan bought their large Montecito home in 2020, they hoped for a peaceful retreat. Their two children, Archie and Lilibet, go to local schools, and the couple seems settled. Still, rumors suggest the neighborhood is less welcoming than it used to be.
Some sources say the couple still enjoys a good community life and often spends time with well-known people like Oprah. But others in the area quietly admit they are tired of the Sussexes, calling them demanding and saying they do not give much back to the community. In Santa Barbara, people are not openly unfriendly, but many now choose to politely avoid them. One clear sign of their troubles is the number of people who have left their team. Hollywood relies on experts like publicists and advisors, but since “Megxit,” the Sussexes have reportedly gone through about two dozen staff members, including 11 publicists in five years.
This constant turnover suggests a deeper management problem. When so many image experts leave, it is usually not the plan that is the problem, but the clients who will not follow it.
A Weary Gaze from Across the Pond
As the Montecito empire begins to show signs of strain, King Charles III is reportedly watching from across the Atlantic, a mix of detachment and fatigue. After dealing with the shock of his son’s departure, the King has mostly moved on and does not pay much attention to the Sussexes’ West Coast projects. Still, his indifference is tinged with exhaustion. He knows how quickly Hollywood can lose interest, and he quietly wonders what will happen if the couple runs out of business options. If their lifestyle brands and production deals do not work out, the royal worry is that Harry and Meghan, with nothing else left, might go back to sharing royal secrets for profit.
The Real Threat: Irrelevance, Not Infamy
This is the real challenge for the Sussexes now: In America, staying relevant is more important than having royal status. When Harry and Meghan first arrived in California, people were interested because they were seen as rebels with inside knowledge of the Royal Family. But secrets do not last forever. Now that the books and documentaries are out, they are trying to stand out among many other celebrity influencers.
Without the royal spotlight, a polo documentary is just another sports film, and a jar of jam is just a jar of jam. Their real problem is not being chased by the press or targeted by the crown. It is that Hollywood and high society are beginning to ignore them.
