On her appearance on Emma Grede’s Aspire podcast, the Duchess of Sussex confirmed some sad news. She will not do a second season of her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder. I loved COAFF – it was such a great concept, and it was so well-executed by Meghan. COAFF was, to me, much better than Archetypes (Meg’s 2022 pod). I found it inspirational to hear from female founders as they described all of their failures and triumphs. While COAFF didn’t seem to get the same kind of listenership as Archetypes, I’m sure it was successful enough to justify multiple seasons. Well, Meghan told Emma that she’s the one deciding to pull the plug on COAFF (for now).
Meghan Markle says her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast won’t return for a second season — at least not yet — as she focuses her energy on building her lifestyle brand, As ever. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared the update during the June 17 episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, where she joined the SKIMS founding partner for a wide-ranging conversation about entrepreneurship. During the chat, Meghan confirmed her podcast, which premiered April 8 via Lemonada Media, is currently on pause.
“As I knew I was in this building phase of my business, what an amazing opportunity to pull back the curtain and let people see what’s happening at the start… And to then take everyone’s advice and mine included and to say, ‘I love that there’s so much excitement and desire for another season, but I need to focus on my business,’ ” Meghan said.
Grede noted the strong response and asked, “Okay, so wait a minute — this was a decision to say, ‘I’m gonna stop this now,’ even though you were having, like, huge success?”
“Yes,” Meghan replied simply. When Grede followed up, noting, “I was hearing about that podcast everywhere and you’ve decided to stop and focus on the business,” Meghan answered, “Have to.”
Asked by Grede why she started the podcast, Meghan called it “perfect synergy.”
“I was so fortunate to find Lemonada, I love that it was a female-founded company that was doing podcasts and the women running it,” Meghan said, describing the platform as “a safe place” to host her show.
I’m really mad about this! I know, it’s her call, she has to focus on her business and making that money, but still! Organize your time better and give us a second season, damn it! This is going to turn me into a Deranger! How dare she give us this great, inspirational and badass podcast and then take it away from us!
Photos courtesy of Lemonada, Meghan’s IG. Screengrabs courtesy of the Jamie Kern Lima Show and Aspire.
I’m actually a little miffed, too. Lol. Oh well. At least there’s jam coming.
I’ll miss it too ☹️ but didn’t Lemonada got sold after Meghan signed on ??
Yes, they were acquired by a Swedish podcast company.
Or maybe she’s worried about keeping the quality up to par. It might just be on hold so she can line up the next batch of women to interview. Remember she’s from the television industry. Where most shows have a great first season. Then come back and the second one isn’t as good. Because all the energy went into getting it on the air in the first place.
The daily updates on Meghan’s changes in plans, staffing, production, etc, do not elevate her image & make her appear indecisive or poorly organized. It’d strengthen her image to limit some of these announcements to those actually finalized & implemented. I’m a Sussex fan but let’s not make her appear too whimsical to be taken very seriously.
Daily updates can come from sources other than Meghan.
Sorry I’m always leery of people who throw in “I’m a Sussex fan” but…. If you have something constructive to say that might not be in favor of a Sussex just say it and leave the “I’m a Sussex” fan out.
It’s like no offense but…
Just say it without a preamble. Fair critique can be said without it. People will agree or won’t agree.
It’s “I love Meghan but”.
Yeah that’s a problematic statement. I’m a fan too, but I also said this makes it look like she’s all over the place.
I’m a fan too, but…
LOL.
Then just say….this makes it look like she’s all over the place. And people will agree or not. The caveat is unnecessary?
I think it has a lot to do with the fact that lots of people don’t behave rationally about the Sussexes. The preamble/caveat is there to announce that it is in fact meant to be a fair critique, not an open invitation to slam them or the start of a ranting screed about how dare the woman have opinions and agency.
I get that but I’d still argue just let the critique stand on it’s own. People can decide whether they think it’s fair and a discussion will be had.
@MinnieMouse — Exactly.
People are quite … interesting when it comes to Kate and Meghan both. Nothing but unwavering vitriol or devotion will do. I confess I don’t get it.
Barack Obama did one short pod series. Is he whimsical, disorganised and unserious?
I’m a fan BUT, always a dead give away.
A dead giveaway for what? Pre-empting that people might suggest they are hating on her for simply having an opinion?
Also, I shouldn’t have to explain why your example is irrelevant but Barack had literally been the US president. Twice. Therefore, he had the history and career success to make any decisions without people accusing him of being unserious, his gender notwithstanding. No one could accuse Michelle of being unserious if she only did one series either. Meghan doesn’t yet have a long and successful history of being in the lifestyle of podcast space yet (we all hope she does), so the concerns are valid.
It’s a difficult balance because everything Meghan-related is under a ridiculous microscope, even when most of the changes or decisions are totally normal for the growth and development of a business or brand. But I agree with you that she/her team(s) need to limit their statements on things where possible until it’s definitive to prevent things being twisted into ‘Meghan is unserious/unorganised/indecisive’. There are complete double standards when it comes to her but I feel she willl be living with that for a long while yet so they have to adjust to that reality, unfortunately.
I don’t understand how Meghan can limit her statements any more than she has. She announced the podcast, she did it, and now she’s saying that will be the only season. Any other chatter is coming from outside.
@Eurydice that’s true. i guess maybe not limit then, per se, but make it less open to interpretation, like the statement from her communications director the other day. A co-signed statement from her and Lemonada would be better, to remove doubts (read: opportunities for media to twist) of their support for her. Like ‘we’ve had a great time and love making the podcast together but for now this will be a standalone series, but we’re wishing her incredible success and the door is firmly open for new episodes or stories to tell’ type thing.
@Eurydice 💯
Honestly this feels to me more like people putting words in Meghan’s mouth and then being upset with her when she doesn’t confirm the other narratives. She said I joined Lemonada, and I’m releasing a new podcast on them. That’s it. She didn’t say I signed a five-year deal with them, she didn’t say that I’ll be doing six seasons of the show, all she said was I’m doing this podcast.
So I really don’t understand how it makes her look any type of way other than believing some sort of narrative that you created in your head and her confirming something that goes against it. This isn’t pointed to you specifically, but this is the same stuff that was going on with the As Ever restock. People complaining about stuff she never said, and it being chaotic and all over the place and then when she reconfirms it just aligns with everything that she had initially said.
It’s okay to be disappointed that she isn’t going to pursue something but it’s unreasonable to act like she sold a bill of goods that she didn’t deliver on. She has to prioritize as a business owner and if her priority for what makes her happy is her TV show and her product line it is what it is.
After all, the Sussexes always announce something only after they finish it. There was so much talk, speculation and hate, when they were silent for half a year. Back then, it was the same here, they could have spoken up, let us know what they were doing, when she would appear, etc.
All this time, the tabloids informed us what Meghan would be selling, none of it was in the offer. It was the same long before the podcast. They wrote about who would be there, who refused, none of it was true, because they didn’t know the truth. The second season of the podcast was our wish, Meghan never said it.
Sometimes circumstances caused a change of date, as was the case with As ever and the series. When she had everything ready and announced the start, Netflix offered her cooperation. She herself told how a small, personal “stand” was suddenly to turn into a big thing
Everything had to be changed. Was she supposed to refuse? At the start, As ever also had a downtime, because even such a large company underestimated the pace of sales and what they thought would be enough for a year, or maybe half a year, sold out in 40 minutes.
In addition, Netflix decided to show the second part of the series “With Love, Meghan” now, and not in the winter, as they had planned, and they are shooting the third part right away. So when would Meghan film another series of podcasts? You don’t do it in 5 minutes, all the preparations plus implementation can take almost a year. She is doing several things at the same time, which is right at the start, because you never know what will surprise you. The problem is that Meghan EVERYTHING, not only surprised you, but also exceeded the maximum 😄👍
I hope she comes back to it. I loved that she paired up with Lemonada. It was recently sold to a Swedish company so I wonder if the same people will continue to be in charge.
Answering myself bc I found this in a trade mag, “Once the acquisition closes, Lemonada Media will still continue to operate under its existing leadership, team, talent, partners and brand. Bloomberg valued the deal at around $30 million.” So that seems great for the Lemonada team.
I’m personally glad that she’s getting out of this podcast business. She signed on to Lemonada, then BBC signed on then company sold for$30 million.
I’m glad she hasn’t resorted to taking Ketamine to be a CEO splitting time 3 to build/manage separate businesses (As Ever, With Love Meghan, COAFF), philanthropy and parenting at the same time. The body keeps the score. It’s good to recognize when you’re stretched thin and adjust accordingly. I think a few of the women she had on her podcast did express that stretching themselves thin was something entrepreneurs should be mindful of. Glad she’s following their advice.
For me, seeing Musk implode should be an example the consequences of stretching yourself thin with several demanding simultaneous leadership roles. They man looks like he’s high 24/7.
She’s a working mom doing a third season of her With Love show and managing her As Ever shop and ShopMy pages. Plus working on her charities, traveling for awards, traveling to support Harry, and so on. So I sort of get the need to step back from one or more things. To the extent she might appear disorganized, stepping back from the podcast could help her focus on everything else she’s got going.
Meghan is great at multitasking. I don’t see her as disorganized.
I enjoyed COAFF, but I’m not a podcast person, so I won’t really miss it. As Ever is her long-term dream with much greater possibilities and I imagine Netflix would be happy for her to focus her attention on that, too.
First saw this when they signed all those production deals and immediately had a baby and took a long maternity/paternity leave. Yes, work life balance is key and family comes first. But think of that before you sign the deals! People set their expectations based on your actions.
This isn’t just about Meghan. A whole team put their trust in her and worked hard to get that podcast launched. And now she’s walking away from it because of another business she’s running, that she knew about when she launched the podcast. I like and support Meghan, but she’s leaning in on the indecisive flake accusations here.
Work life balance is, in the end, about saying no to things you don’t have time for. Saying yes to everything and leaving people in the lurch may be necessary at times, but it’s a bad look.
Did she ever say this was multi season?
Also, given this deal was signed last year, what’s that got to do with 2020? Did she predict a pandemic as well?
Again, I asked above, is Obama a flake for doing one short pod? Meghan’s done two entirely different pods. Who’s to say the staff won’t be doing other things, especially since she’s doing TV. Weird and thoroughly judgemental take.
We don’t know what type of deal Meghan signed with Lemonada but they got to air Archetypes and they got one season of Confessions. I quite possible that this is all she signed up for. If so, then she hasn’t flaked out as Tis true says but has fulfilled her obligations.
@Tis True Tis True
I’ll sharing a different perspective on her decision.
I think As Ever is growing faster than was initially projected hence the shift to pause the podcast. If she burns out, all businesses might flop. Entrepreneurs take risks. Everyday there’s a new startup and a new businesses folding or slowing down. Staff is impacted. That’s entrepreneurship. That’s reality. People take advantages of opportunities presented (signing deals) without knowing exactly what the future is. Hopes, dreams and hard work is what drives entrepreneurs and new ideas to succeed.
Yes, both she Meghan and Emma said in the interview that entrepreneurs have to know when to pivot.
Lemonada got a lot of positive exposure for signing Meghan. And they already had big names like David Duchovny and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. And they’ve just gotten a 30 million dollar deal. We don’t know what her contract was for. But I can only imagine that the Lemonada team is happy about the amount of growth the company is doing.
Exactly 👍 when she signed up so many people here were crying why is Meghan signing with a company that has such a low profile, I’d never heard of it, now here we are.
Meghan said she wants to revisit the podcast when she’s further along in the As ever journey. She even mentioned bringing it back at As ever’s Q4 (I think that would be April 2026) or later.
Seeing as the story telling behind COAFF was her as a baby founder learning from other women & sharing starter hiccups for her brand, it just sounds like she would want a second season to have a focus with her with more experience under her belt. She even says it doesn’t mean there won’t be a second season but just sounds like it won’t be imminently. I think one of the reasons why Emma’s interview with Meghan was so good is because she is a seasoned businesswoman who knew the right questions to ask. Maybe Meghan wants a next season to have elevated conversations where she has more experience.
I’m not sure a pause is great for momentum especially where there’s lots of business podcasts out there. But if Lemonada have an issue with Meghan not doing a new season immediately, I’m sure they have remedies under their contract & there are plenty of press outlets who would be happy to hear any complaints.
When the Lemonada deal was announced it just said Lemonada & Meghan will launch a new podcast series and Lemonada would distribute Archetypes to all podcast platforms. So for all we know the deal was for one new series (which she has delivered) with eg an option for a further seasons &all parties are ok save for agreeing terms for a further season etc
I’m sad about this but she didn’t completely shoot down the possibility of a Season 2. So I’m hopeful that next year when she’s more clear about the direction of her business that we will get another season. I really enjoyed the show
I thought I heard Meghan say that she might come back to the podcast from a different perspective. She did the series while she was founding As ever, and offered insights into her own business while interviewing established founders. She clearly said that she is prioritizing her business for now, which is at a critical development stage. She is filming her Netflix life-style show. As far as I can see, she was juggling four things this past year, and I see the synchronicity of all the things she was doing. She has a young family and a husband, philanthropy, and shared work with Harry through the Archewell Foundation. She is a human being, and not a machine. Maybe Meghan plans to do single seasons of numerous podcasts on issues that interest her. Seems like Michelle Obama is doing something similar.
Yeah she did. She hasn’t closed the door on a Season 2 but it’s on hiatus for now so she can focus on her business and the show. I’m disappointed but I understand.
Absolutely makes sense when As Ever and WLM are going stratospheric.
I kind of hope she returns with a third concept for an “inspirational interviews” type series because Archetypes and COFF were both really fantastic in their own ways, and the format lends itself to platforming really diverse guests.
I wonder if she is pausing the podcast because Lemonada is being sold, assuming that is true of course. When a business changes hands, it could mean new management, policies, etc. I think she’s wise not to commit to anything publicly until more is known. And she may not be at liberty to speak about that deal if she does know anything.
Gemini answer: “Yes, Lemonada Media is being acquired. Swedish podcast company PodX Group is purchasing a majority stake in the company. The deal is for roughly $30 million. This acquisition will mark PodX Group’s first entry into the U.S. market.”
Gemini KI
Eh. She has the freedom to do whatever she wants with any of these projects. Is that not what we wanted for her? There are plenty of podcasts out there. Her business expanding is more interesting to me personally.
It AMAZED me (not really) that a hard working mother reorganizing and shuffling her priority in work & life got more criticisms than the work-shy woman bailing out on her ONE job for today. And both women’s decisions have no direct impact to ordinary people.
Not supporting Meghan is fine, do not pretend you like her or are her supporter.
The expectations on this woman are wild.
Yeah I don’t know if it’s just people setting super high standards for Meghan or a sense of entitlement that she do things *they* want in the way *they* want.
But it’s not ‘flaky’ or ‘disorganized’ to have multiple projects, channels, areas of focus and to have some things that are of limited duration by design or that you could keep doing but you decide to pause or move on from because your interests, focus, availability and or markets shift.
And especially for someone in a creative industry or entrepreneurs. Lots of people build entire careers moving from project to project, there are serial start up folks who love getting ideas off the drawing pad and out into the world and then moving on.
And Sometimes changing things up is how you find the super successful thing that ALSO lights you up, sometimes most of your endeavors can click, but your interests or the landscape changes. Unless we’re under a lifetime contract to The Firm, none of us have to keep doing the same thing, or as we’re told.
The judgement aimed at a bi-racial American woman who decided to complete the season of a podcast as she agreed to and NOT do an additional one right now is offputting. It DOES seem like an excuse to criticize her or hold her to arbitrary and unnecessary rules.
It’s fine for people to want S2 or think it is a good idea; but using it as evidence of a character flaw or to concern troll about her image is … a choice.
There is only so much one person can do and it is time to mind the store. Can’t be having 3 month lags between restocking products. I really enjoyed the podcast, although the content of Archetypes was more to my interest. Agree COAFF was more polished and she’s much more confident so I hope she eventually gets back to this space or is a guest on other podcasts in the meantime. Anyway, there is WLM, and she hinted they moved up the next season , and the next product release. Time to focus on building the business.
I don’t think we need to criticise her for doing things her way. Have you never finished two pieces of work, be it knitting a jumper or a scientific paper, and then thought “well done, I’ll come back to it later”? She does round things and is visible. I think she’ll continue with Lemonada when she’s ready. Meghan is incredibly hardworking and everything is successful. I am delighted with her versatility and enjoy following all her activities.
Just read this quickly & didn’t listen to the pod – but did she leave open the possibility of doing another podcast on a different topic? Because if she covered the topics she wanted to and is moving on to a new subject that’s different from pulling the plug on podcasting at Lemonada all together…?
She said she’s open to doing the same podcast but with a different perspective i.e. a different stage of being a founder.
I think it makes sense for Meghan to be a guest on the multitudes of wonderful podcasts currently available then spending precious finite resources on running one of her own right now😊
I love she went into it with noble intent. But the time, research, writing and preparing for podcasts must be huge. Even if you have a team supporting you. It’s still you on the mic. She can only do so many things well at once. And we know Meghan does not half ass things.
I think in a few years when she gets her lifestyle brand and business fully off the ground. Hopefully she comes back to it. Or is still a great guest on other podcasts.
Being a small business owner even with the backing of a conglomerate like Netflix. Is a huge undertaking. I can imagine she recognized she needed to focus on family then the business successfully.
I think it sounds smart to focus on her other businesses as they ramp up – WLM and As Ever are likely demanding much more of Meghan’s time than she thought. And, as has been pointed out even here on CB, her focus really should be on getting those products restocked!
I don’t understand how on one hand, people complain that there’s not enough communication to customers about the As Ever inventory but then, when she is quite clear that she is putting one project on hiatus, that’s…also bad? My girl can’t win! I’m sure we wouldn’t want her to just let the podcast die off or never mention it again.
I also think that she is possibly making a smart move by not getting stuck in a rut. It’s all very well to interview female founders and discuss their “origin stories”, but you don’t necessarily want it to become formulaic. As Meghan’s own business grows, I imagine that she will want to ask different questions and focus on the next phase – how does one harness growth sustainably, for example. I could certainly see her coming back in a year or two with a fresh perspective.
I would say that her talking about coming to do it in late 2026 sounds like a good idea. I think she put that out there so people didn’t run around saying that Lemonada were disappointed with her and see she doesn’t have a second season out yet.
That said, I hope she sticks with As Ever and their philanthropy. I just say that because people keep using this stuff to say see she’s disorganized, she’s terrible, this is why people hate working for her.
I dont see how anyone can say Meghan is disorganized. It would be one thing if nothing ever got made or produced, if it never got beyond the talking stage. But this woman started a business, has done two podcasts, a streaming show, is producing a movie and being a wife and mother. And she’s just getting started. I’m tired just listing all of the things she’s done and I didn’t even mention her non-profit work. The haters will pull stuff out of thin air just to suit their narrative.
Lol. I am with Kaiser , I too want a second season of this podcast. Meghan please. I am literally begging.
I think its totally fine for her to decide and shift her focus. She is a grown, professional women who owes none of us nothing. It doesn’t say anything about her to me except she knows her mind and is attuned to her energy and interests. Some of this chatter about “she should have” —, (*not referring to “ill miss this bc i liked it”*) is moving into deranger territory, sorry.
Unpopular opinion: I enjoyed Archetypes a lot more than COAFF. For me, the format of Archetypes was like an audio essay, very academic, sophisticated and highbrow. The subject matter interested me a lot, and I felt connected to it and identified with it more. But I understand the appeal of the natural and smart dialogue between Meghan and her guests in COAFF. I thought Archetypes as a podcast had more to tell in several seasons. COAFF served Meghan well as she launched herself as a female founder and dispelled the idea that she is becoming a trad wife. I felt that was very important. She came across both as humble and also a voice of authority at the same time. I agree with Meghan that it has served its purpose. So I am not that sad to see it end. What I am sad about is that Meghan no longer talks about the scripted shows and movies they had in development. I was really looking forward to those.
Gemini I’m on the same page as you. While I enjoyed COAFF, I’m not really business minded. There were good gems in the episodes but I liked the whole theme around Archetypes and giving it a historical and academic grounding, as well as discussing topics with the guests who could speak directly on those archetypes/stereotypes. If anything, with the attacks in women’s autonomy, it’s more relevant. I think Archetypes could have been more polished or focused but generally more what I like to listen to. I hope she eventually does another podcast but she needs to focus on her business and also, there’s a lot happening in the world. Maybe take the time to reassess before deciding what topic to explore. The season just wrapped.People need to chill.
I have feeling she is concentrating on As Ever. I think she was talking to friends on founders while she was learning and creating her brand. Now, it is created she might do another podcast with another name with other subjects later. Meghan needs to share a little less about her business plan while she is still learning. She needs to go back to TIG or something similar and do seasonal podcasts about other women’s issues. Whatever she stop doing fans are up in arms and afraid and her distractor are gleeful thinking it is a failure.
Pardon my bad grammar, English is not my first language and I am always on Celebitchy during boring Zoom meeting and never have time to correct
I don’t know if it’s an American entertainment thing or not but it’s okay to do a thing that’s successful and quit while you’re ahead. Especially as Meghan has said she has a full plate right now.
This is disappointing. I wonder what the whole story is? Not a good look for her. It plays into the “she has good ideas and then drops them” story.
I appreciate that podcasting is a real job and that she may not have time for it right now, but I think it would be better if she just called it a hiatus. Don’t say she’s stopping it – Say she’s giving it a pause while she works on As Ever. Or organized her schedule better. Or something.
It’s not unusual for podcasts to have regular breaks depending on the host’s schedule. For instance, Kelce brothers New Heights used to only broadcast during the football season and that was fine. Kylie Kelce took a break after having daughter 4. Etc.
Maybe she’s going to start shooting ep 3 of With love, Meghan soon? Hmmm – she probably would’ve mentioned that.
I’m not sure why Meghan would’ve mentioned whether she was currently shooting a season 3. Of course, I’m hoping there will be some sort of a holiday season or a maybe just a holiday special miniseries type deal. But, no, I can’t really seeing her mentioning anything like that even if it is happening. So no that’s not a surprise. The article itself referred to it as a pause although Meghan did say a stop. She did not say how long that stop would be but it’s clear that it was a “for now” stop. Will it be a forever stop? Idk. Is that vague? Sure. I just don’t see her revealing all her long term plans in detail. Oh well.
Meghan said they’ve just finished editing season 2 and will soon start filming season 3.
@martha, The whole story is she needs to capitalize on the windfall that AsEver is presenting and needs to build the business so it is viable and sustainable. How many projects does she need to juggle at once? I get the impression she constantly reassesses things and at this point, she rightfully thinks this podcast has run its course.