Can Meghan Ever Win?

She's got a Netflix show, a new podcast and, yes, jam. Love her or hate her, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, isn't going anywhere — and continues to spark a global debate

- BY ISABEL MOHAN

She Wants Too Much...

She's No Kate...

She's Divorced...

She's Got No Sense of Humor...

She's a Woman...

She Came Between Brothers...

She's Out of Touch...

It's been less than a decade since Prince Harry went on that fateful first date with Meghan Markle. And yet, a lot has changed, all against a backdrop of challenging events in the royal family itself and the wider world including Somewhere amid the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a global pandemic and countless smaller but just as significant events in the couple's lives becoming parents to son Archie, 5, and daughter Lilibet, 3-Meghan has gone from being considered "a breath of fresh air" for the monarchy to one of the most controversial figures on the planet.

Whether you love her, hate her or are just bemused by anyone caring either way (but wondering why your kids just brought some flower seeds home from a party), you can't escape her. After all, it's not often a Netflix show about candles and fruit platters makes global headlines. Across the pond, Scotland's Daily Record branded Meghan "a bland Betty Crocker," and The Guardian called the series "gormless lifestyle filler" so "pointless it might be the Sussexes' last TV show." Stateside, New York Magazine declared Meghan was pioneering "new frontiers of unrelatability," while her "soothing banality" was praised by Refinery29... kinda.

While the reviews weren't great, With Love, Meghan did rank tenth in Netflix's Top 10 Shows Overview list and the streamer promptly announced a second season was on its way. By mid-March, Meghan Mania hit a crescendo. After all, one thing's for sure: it's crystallized that her seemingly relentless quest for worldwide domination is part of the problemand the way she seems to just plow on, regardless of what everyone's saying about her.