Meghan Markle makes no apologies for her busy work life.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, spoke to the New York Times in an interview published Wednesday and defended taking on various business ventures, such as her Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan,” and her newly-launched As Ever lifestyle brand, following her and Prince Harry’s 2020 exit from the royal family.
“I need to work, and I love to work,” said Markle.
The “Suits” alum also said that, before she met Harry, 40, in 2016, she wasn’t without a job since she was 13.
And given that she now has two kids, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, Markle said, “This is a way I can connect my home life and my work.”
Markle and Harry quit their royal duties in January 2020, less than two years after their wedding, and moved to Montecito, California, where they own a $14 million mansion.
Since starting their new life in America, the couple has released multiple Netflix shows, including Markle’s cooking series that was trashed by critics and failed to make a splash in viewership upon its release last month.
Additionally, Markle had her own podcast with Spotify, called “Archetypes,” but the $20 million deal fell through in 2023. Her new podcast with Lemonada Media, titled “Confessions of a Female Founder,” will premiere next week.
The mom of two on Wednesday launched her lifestyle brand, which was rebranded from American Riviera Orchard to As Ever. Markle’s first product drop, which is already sold out, includes her signature raspberry jam, several types of herbal teas, crepe mix, shortbread cookies and more.
Netflix, which has a $100 million deal with Markle and Harry that ends this year, is an investor in As Ever.
Markle promoted her lifestyle brand in the New York Times interview. She invited food writer Julia Moskin into her kitchen for the discussion, but on one major condition.
“I was allowed in on the condition that no photographs were taken in, or of, the house,” Moskin wrote in Wednesday’s article.
Moskin also noted that she was the first journalist to be invited into Markle and Harry’s home.
Elsewhere in the interview, the former actress responded to accusations that she isn’t relatable.
“Don’t they know my life hasn’t always been like this?” Markle said, gesturing to her Montecito property.
Moskin also told Markle about the controversy involving “With Love, Meghan” viewers complaining that she used expensive Le Creuset cookware in the series.
In response, Markle threw up her hands, turned to her mother, Doria Ragland, and said, “This is a thing, in 2025?”
“Everyone is coming in hot these days,” Ragland, 68, replied.
