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

Meghan Markle could become the next Martha Stewart, Omid Scobie claimed today, as rumors about her next move continue three years after leaving the royal family.

The author has suggested that the Duchess of Sussex could follow in the footsteps of the famous 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 while promoting his new book Endgame, released today.

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

Mr Scobie said she focused on building “something more accessible, something rooted in her love of detail, curation, hosting, the simple pleasures of life and family.”

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

He said this was due to creative differences, adding that Harry and Meghan did not want to hit the “front-page news-grabbing, media-inciting content” that Spotify wanted. Mr Scobie also said they made the deal because they were in ‘serious need of money’ at the time.

Speaking about the comparison with Stewart, Mr Scobie said The independent today: ‘I’m not intentionally mysterious. I always think about Goop, but when I suggested it to someone with some knowledge, they said, “Oh no, this isn’t about selling products.” So who knows? The next Martha Stewart?’

Mr Scobie also said Meghan would not launch a new venture until she escaped the shadow of the royal family, adding: ‘They insisted the reason she didn’t come to the coronation was Archie’s birthday .

‘But I know from other people around them that being swept up in all the media coverage and the hysteria that comes with being within 10 feet of the royal family was enough to put her off and this is clearly something she wants to stay away from.”

It follows reports in August that Meghan was preparing to “relaunch” herself on Instagram, with experts predicting she could earn $1 million 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 stepped down as senior Royals, is said to be behind an account called @meghan.

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

Ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, Suits actress Meghan’s personal Instagram following topped three million, while tens of thousands of fans signed up for The Tig.

Meghan first revealed her plans to return to Instagram in an interview with The Cut last year, telling writer Allison P. Davis, “You want to know a secret? I’ll be back on Instagram.’

Speaking about the failed Spotify deal, Mr Scobie said they signed it – as well as the £80 million deal with Netflix – when they were under ‘financial pressure’ and needed money after stepping down as senior royals and moving to the US had moved.

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

Mr. Scobie told it The independent: ‘They clearly had money. But they needed serious money for a good roof over their heads and safety.

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

“I imagine the couple knew in the beginning that Spotify wanted this from them, but the money was on the table and they found themselves in a desperate situation.”

Meghan presented just one series as part of the deal: the podcast Archetypes, which ran for 12 episodes from August 2022, in which she spoke to celebrities, historians and experts about the history of stereotypes 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 created 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 prize at the People’s Choice Award in Los Angeles.

Scobie’s new book accuses the Princess of Wales of being ‘cold’ and ignoring Meghan’s ‘cries for help’. It also claims that the future of the monarchy is ‘in crisis’ and there is a ‘struggle for survival’.

The king’s relationship with William is explored, with one 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, to be honest. While they share passions and interests, their leadership styles are completely different.”

In the book, a source claims that Kate ‘can be cold when she doesn’t like someone’ and the writer continues: ‘This is a side of Kate that is rarely written about.

“Advocating for mental health issues – maternal mental health, at that – but ignoring her own sister-in-law’s cries for help seemed inappropriate for someone the public knew as sweet and easy-going.”

The book claims, among other things, 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 should be encouraged to take part in fights. .

Mr Scobie’s book makes a series of allegations involving the Sussexes – including that William and other relatives ‘covertly sanctioned’ leaks to reporters about Harry, that the older brother ignored texts from Harry as the family headed to Balmoral for the late queen died last year, and that Charles and Meghan exchanged letters following her interview with Oprah Winfrey.