Meghan the lifestyle guru? Omid Scobie suggests the Duchess could become ‘the next Martha Stewart’ – as Endgame author claims Sussexes struck £18m Spotify deal ‘because they needed serious money’ after quitting royal duties

• READ MORE: Who is Omid Scobie? 

Meghan Markle could become the new Martha Stewart, Omid Scobie claimed today as rumours continue over her next move three years after quitting the Royal Family.

The author has suggested the Duchess of Sussex could follow in the footsteps of the famed 82-year-old American TV cooking and lifestyle personality and entrepreneur.

Mr Scobie, who has been dubbed ‘Meghan’s mouthpiece’, made the suggestion in a newspaper interview as he promoted his new book Endgame which came out today.

He also said Meghan is unlikely to revive her now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig – and rejected previous comparisons with Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle business Goop.

Mr Scobie said she was focused on building ‘something more accessible, something rooted in her love of details, curating, hosting, life’s simple pleasures, and family’.

In the same interview, Mr Scobie also spoke about the end of the couple’s £18million deal with Spotify which finished in June after one series of the Archetypes podcast.

He said this was down to creative differences, adding that Harry and Meghan did not want to make the ‘headline grabbing, media-stirring content’ that Spotify wanted. Mr Scobie also said they did the deal because they ‘needed serious money’ at the time.

Martha Stewart, pictured at the Bergdorf Goodman store in New York City on November 16

Prince Harry and Meghan’s deal with Spotify ended in June after one series of Archetypes

Omid Scobie’s controversial new book Endgame about the Royal Family was released today

Speaking about the comparison with Stewart, Mr Scobie told The Independent today: ‘I’m not being deliberately mysterious. My mind always goes to Goop, but when I suggested that to someone with some knowledge they said, ‘Oh, no, this isn’t going to be about selling products.’ So who knows? The next Martha Stewart?’

READ MORE Omid Scobie insists Harry and Meghan didn’t brief him for Endgame – but admits there are ‘plenty of people around them’ who DID – as he embarks on media blitz amid backlash to his ‘poisonous’ book

Mr Scobie also said Meghan would only launch a new venture once she had escaped the shadow of the Royal Family, adding: ‘They insisted the reason she didn’t come to the Coronation was because of Archie’s birthday.

‘But I know from other people in their orbit, being dragged into all the media coverage and hysteria that comes with her being within 10ft of the royal family was enough to deter her and is clearly something she wants to steer away from.’

It follows reports in August that Meghan was getting ready to ‘re-launch’ herself on Instagram with experts predicting she could make a million dollars per post.

The duchess, whose last account with husband Prince Harry , @sussexroyal, had 9.4 million followers before it was deactivated in 2020 when the couple quit being senior Royals, is said to be behind an account named @meghan.

The account has 126,000 followers and is already followed by several of Meghan’s friends including activist Mandana Dayani, who served as president of Archewell , the Sussexes’ media and philanthropic company, until last December.

Prior to her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry, Suits actress Meghan’s personal Instagram following stood at more than three million, while tens of thousands of fans signed up for The Tig.

Meghan first announced she was planning a return to Instagram in an interview with The Cut last year, telling writer Allison P Davis: ‘Do you want to know a secret? I’m getting back on Instagram.’

Speaking about the collapsed Spotify deal, Mr Scobie said they signed this – as well as the £80million agreement with Netflix – when under ‘financial pressure’ and in need of cash after stepping down as senior royals and moving to the US in 2020.

The Instagram account that Meghan is expected to use for her social media comeback

An old Instagram post from Meghan’s former account with friend and actress Janina Gavankar

An old Instagram post from Meghan Markle’s account, pictured on a holiday in New Zealand

He claimed the situation was worsened when the Sussexes lost financial support from the Royal Family – which he alleged was a response to Harry’s claims that his brother Prince William’s team was leaking stories about him and Meghan to a newspaper when they were still living in England.

READ MORE Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s ‘total system reboot’: Couple are revamping their career direction after being surprised at Spotify ‘turning down so many of their ideas’, sources claim

Mr Scobie told The Independent: ‘Obviously they had money. But they needed serious money for a proper roof over their heads and security.

‘It was the middle of a pandemic, of course you’re going to sign the deals. But ultimately Spotify were looking for headline-grabbing, media-stirring content and that’s not the direction that the couple wanted to go in, so it fell apart.

‘I’d imagine the couple knew at the start that’s what Spotify wanted from them but the money was on the table and they were in a desperate place.’

Meghan hosted only one series as part of the deal – the podcast Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022, chatting to celebrities, historians and experts about the history of stereotypes levelled against women.

Tennis star Serena Williams, singer Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton and actors Mindy Kaling and Constance Wu were among the guests.

But a joint statement from Archewell and Spotify in June said: ‘Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.’

Harry and Meghan signed the lucrative deal with the audio streaming giant to host and produce podcasts, in late 2020. In December, Archetypes won the top podcast award at the People’s Choice Award in Los Angeles.

In Mr Scobie’s new book, the Princess of Wales is accused of being ‘cold’ and ignoring Meghan’s ‘cries for help’. It also asserts that the future of the monarchy is ‘in a crisis’ and it is in a ‘fight for survival’.

Meghan Markle at the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City on May 16

Meghan hosted only one series as part of the couple’s £18million Spotify deal – the podcast Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022

The King’s relationship with William is examined with a source making a scathing comment about the heir to the throne’s opinion of his father.

The source said: ‘William (doesn’t) think his father is competent enough, quite frankly. Though they share passions and interests, their style of leadership is completely different.’

In the book a source claims that Kate can be ‘cold if she doesn’t like someone’ and the writer goes on to say: ‘This is a side of Kate that rarely gets written about.

‘Advocating for mental health causes – the mental health of mothers, for that matter – but ignoring her own sister-in-law’s cries for help seemed out of character for someone the public knew as sweet and easy to get along with.’

Among the claims made in the book are that there is a rift between the King and William, that Queen Camilla has ‘quietly thanked’ Piers Morgan for ‘defending the Firm’, and that a timid Kate has to be encouraged to take part in engagements.

Mr Scobie’s book makes a series of allegations involving the Sussexes – including that William and other family members ‘covertly sanctioned’ leaks to reporters about Harry, that the elder brother ignored texts from Harry when the family were making their way to Balmoral before the late Queen died last year, and that Charles and Meghan exchanged letters in the wake of her interview with Oprah Winfrey.

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