Two weeks ago, the Daily Mail launched an absurd storyline about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, mostly Meghan. The storyline was that Meghan “spiraling badly” because “nothing is working.” Sources swore that everyone in Hollywood hates Meghan, and everyone in Montecito hates Meghan, and Anna Wintour hates Meghan for good measure too! The Mail piece read like a Deranger fever dream, so obviously, Tom Sykes piled on with his own exclusive. He claimed that Meghan has “burned bridges” everywhere, in every industry. Sykes dropped in this bizarre piece of gossip too: “And a kitchen that, I’m told by someone who lives near them in Montecito, looks like it’s straight out of an Olive Garden circa 1994 cos they can’t afford to remodel.” This is the level of bitch-eating-crackers tantruming from the royalist media: they’re defaming Meghan’s kitchen because they’re so mad that she lives peacefully in her Montecito mansion, selling her jam and minding her business. Well, if that wasn’t enough, Sykes was apparently ranting about the kitchen on his podcast:
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are living the “American dream” with their sprawling Montecito mansion complete with seven acres of stunning grounds. The royal couple have had nothing but praise for their idyllic pad, which they share with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, however, their neighbours are not of the same opinion.
Speaking in his The Royalist podcast, journalist Tom Sykes revealed: “I was in New York last week, and I was meeting with somebody who lives fairly near them, and they said to me that that house that they occupy in Montecito is like a source of laughing stock.”
“It’s kind of shameful because, of course, in America, if you’re a billionaire and you buy a house for $14 million, I mean, what’s the first thing you do? Knock it down, you know, or at the very least remodel it, you know?
“And there they are, still sort of padding around in a kitchen that looks straight out of the Olive Garden, you know, circa 1994.”
The neighbour isn’t wrong, as it is very commonplace for high-profile people like celebrities to acquire a mansion and flatten it to create their own version of perfection. We’ve seen A-list stars like Kanye West and Chris Pratt do exactly that. So, Harry and Meghan going against the grain has ruffled feathers, but that doesn’t make it wrong…
Contrastingly, in the UK, swathes of people are seeking to preserve the history of their homes, keeping original fireplaces and unearthing amazing period features. Granted, the Sussexes’ home isn’t historic, having only been built in 2003, but perhaps retaining existing structures and the intended design should be celebrated? The property has been designed to look like a rustic chateau and that aesthetic fits in perfectly with Meghan’s wholesome lifestyle brand, As Ever.
[From Hello via Yahoo]
Yeah… it’s more than possible that Meghan just… likes her kitchen. It looks cozy and warm. Is the “rustic Italian” thing out of style? Sure, but look at what’s in style for kitchens these days – all of those white cabinets and marble and subway tiles. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, which is just my point – it’s not some kind of wealth-signifier or elitism-signifier to have a modern all-white kitchen or a rustic Italian kitchen. It’s just a matter of personal taste. Incidentally, there was a rumor recently that the Sussexes stayed with Ted Sarandos and Nicole Avant because the Sussexes were remodeling! But even then, I suspect that Meghan probably doesn’t want to rip out her kitchen – it’s not the cost, it’s the time. Plus, she’s using that space for her As Ever photoshoots anyway.
Photos courtesy of As Ever’s Instagram and Meghan’s Instagram.
Somebody is jealous because they brought a house that they liked. What a sensible thing to do.
Dumb news!!!
Gossip, actually. Not even “news”. This was also a pretty good take:
https://celebchai.com/2026/05/15/the-comment-section-refused-the-bait-what-964-comments-actually-said-about-the-olive-garden-kitchen/
I’m sure this makes me sound like the prole I am to Tom Sykes (with which I’m fine) but I would be very happy with Meghan’s kitchen!
Wait a minute! I was under the impression that she films all her programs somewhere else & NOT in her own kitchen. Wasn’t there an article about that a while ago? Did I get it wrong?
For her show, With Love Meghan, she uses a different kitchen.
But all the as Ever promo shots etc (that are used in this post) are her real kitchen.
It Is a beautiful kitchen.
I would be extremely comfortable and happy in that kitchen! It’s large but still has a cozy vibe.
I love her kitchen! Let me in to cook a meal!
“is very commonplace for high-profile people like celebrities to acquire a mansion and flatten it to create their own version of perfection. We’ve seen A-list stars like Kanye West and Chris Pratt do exactly that. So, Harry and Meghan going against the grain has ruffled feathers”
I’m sorry WTAF?!! So they don’t have any real stuff to complain about, so now they’ve ruffled feathers by keeping the house that they purchased with their own money to their own liking? I WISH someone would tell me that I ” bothered” them by designing my house to my standards.
First of all- If a bunch of millionaires are sitting around their kitchen complaining about how another millionaire’s kitchen looks, they need to get a life. But I sincerely doubt that this is true.
This is literally just the media having nothing, and knowing nothing, about what they are doing, and being so angry that they are successful and that they don’t have to tap dance to their drum beat. 85% of these stories nowadays just seem to be them begging and pleading for Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson to go on the record and release a statement.
That got me too. It’s now gauche to live in the house you bought and not tear it down and rebuild? Billionaires do the strangest things just to prove they can. That’s absolutely not something to applaud or strive for.
Lol this remains of certain quote I came across it says that have you seen roll Royce car ad on tv ? No right it’s because people who buy those kinds of luxury won’t be sitting at home watching tv. That quote apply here too, I highly doubt where many hustle in usa for their money sitting and talking about this. I thought it’s like aristocrat where they have nothing better to do than gossip all day.
@Maddie I think you have a good point about this being something that are aristocrat would do. I’ve said a lot in the past that the biggest problem for coverage for the Sussexes after leaving, is that the British media and even some of the American Media tries to do a full copy and paste on what they’re doing in the US to how that would have gone over in the UK. And it just doesn’t fit.
You can’t compare people that are earning money, to taxpayer funded people and it be an even switch. When you do, you get stories like this which sounds stupid in the scheme of things.
An 8-burner stove? I’m over here swooning. As if those copper pans hadn’t already done me in!
I love the copper pans! And all the windows.
I honestly don’t know how she keeps her chin up. Those vultures now consider her f*cking kitchen a character flaw. But if she had remodeled it? Also would be a character flaw and a stain upon the population of the earth. Her resiliency in the face of this unending criticism is, to my mind, a show of strength and character that is largely unmatched. Why is the British public not more upset that this dumbsh*t keeps getting published, therefore making readers dumber by the word?
Imagine criticizing someone because they didn’t follow the examples of Kanye West and Chris Pratt. Hmm.
Mmmm… Olive Garden… [Homer Simpson drool gif]
I’m pretty sure the kitchens at Olive Garden are floor to ceiling stainless steel, not natural wood and exposed brick. I always wonder who looks around in a nasty subway station and says “yes, this is the look I want to surround me in my home.” I call that aesthetic “public restroom” myself. Nobody ever talks about choosing subway tile, but it’s always just already there. I thought Meghan rented a place to film her show anyway, specifically to keep her own kitchen private.
I’ve seen an Olive Garden kitchen they aren’t making that horrible excuse for Italian food in any thing that resembles Meghan’s kitchen.. I’m sure the author thought he was being clever but I found that comment so completely devoid of any intelligence it made me roll my eyes.
And here I am thinking their kitchen is gorgeous. So oh well.
Literally, I love all the stone. This is just another way to compare Meghan and Kate- Kate had a perfectly nice and new kitchen ripped out because it wasn’t her preference, so that’s the gold standard. Not a peep about how wasteful and not environmentally efficient that is!
Her kitchen is gorgeous and it fits the home perfectly an all white kitchen with touches of gray would look out of place in that home imo. Plus Prince Harry grew up and is used to extremely old homes so I imagine he didn’t even notice or give it a thought.. people don’t have to remodel something they love or that functions perfectly for their needs just because the neighbors do. I would love to see the author’s kitchen since he seems to think this is an issue. I’m actually tired of the white, steel, gray kitchen it has no warmth whatsoever, I hate mine.
Love Meghan’s kitchen and the comfortable vibe it creates. I have had a white kitchen in a prior home and now I have cherry wood . For me it is about how much you use your kitchen and the vibe you are creating for your family. Meghan’s kitchen appears to be large with high end appliances, I love it and it keeps with the aesthetic of the overall home. Hope she does not change it.
So her KITCHEN is a laughingstock? For real? It looks absolutely gorgeous and expensive to me. But, but, but are her pots and pans up to par? Do people laugh at her cutlery, too? Demented and hilarious “criticism.”
I think they’ve run out of negative stories to write. This is bunkers.
The kitchen looks gorgeous and very much in keeping with the rest of their home.
People are absolutely unhinged when it comes to Meghan. Has there ever been anything quite like it?
If the price I have to pay to live on a beautiful estate in Santa Barbara with a garden, pool, ocean views, and chickens is to live with an actual Olive Garden kitchen from 1994, I would gladly take that deal.
“Feathers are ruffled” because they didn’t flatten their house to build a new one like Kanye West did?
Someone who “lives fairly close to them”? What is “fairly close”? Kensington Palace?
Lol!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
What a loser Sykes is. Trashing someone’s kitchen.
The neighbor doesn’t exist.
I recently had a new kitchen and went for rustic lol. anyway Meghan has always come across (to me) as thoughtful and considered, so she’s probably either really happy with the kitchen or taking her time deciding what she wants. Either way, her kitchen her business.
I don’t get Sykes’ obsession with Meghan’s kitchen. It’s weird. I think Meghan just loves her kitchen and that’s all that matters.
The style goes with the rest of the house (Mediterranean Tuscan). They may give it an air of youth but it would be a mistake to remodel. Anyway, it’s warm, lots of natural materials and very Meghan.
I love their kitchen and hope they won’t remodel it! The white kitchen trend is so over, anyways
Lol, the author of the article doesn’t seem to agree with Sykes. Whenever people asked my mother why she wouldn’t redecorate/remodel her home she would say, “You don’t see Queen Elizabeth moving the furniture around, why should I?”
I bet money that the tacky kitchen which he is complaining about has been recreated in Can’t Work Kate’s kitchen although we know she can’t cook.
I love their kitchen & the rest of the house that we see. That balcony where they spotted the hummingbirds is gorgeous as well.
Btw didnt Kate earn the nickname 4 kitchens Kate by ripping out perfectly good kitchens in Kensington and what was it Amner Hall and if memory is correct they also had to install a small one in another part of the house so their staff would not use W&K’s kitchen?(the horror)
Yep, Kate tore out a new remodeled kitchen at Anmer Hall, much to the late queen’s consternation if memory serves, and had a separate staff kitchen installed at KP for the peasants, I mean staff. As to the 2nd kitchen at KP, I can kinda understand why they would want a separate break room for them especially if the offices are located on the lower levels of a multi floor building.
It was nothing to do with a separate break room. They had a “family” kitchen fitted PLUS the existing kitchen ripped out and remodelled. These were not in the staff quarters, where the workers have their own kitchen. On top of that, they wasted millions redoing a perfectly good, newly installed kitchen at Anmer. Why, I cannot imagine, because Kate doesn’t cook and neither does William.
And you can absolutely bet that one of the first things they did at Adelaide and Forest Lodge was redo the kitchens.
It seems like a massive case of projection from Sykes, and whoever is giving him these “details”. British reporters are so used to being fed information instead of getting of their lazy arses and practising journalism that many of them seem to be in the habit of pushing false narratives or “baiting” articles which are designed to get their targets to respond, so that they can stretch out the story some more. And they are getting angrier and angrier at the Sussexes because (1) they are completely cut off and NO-ONE in their circle is talking to them, (2) the Sussexes are completely ignoring them, so they have essentially been reduced to shouting into the void “please pay attention to me dammit!” and (3) they have become a laughing stock the world over as a result. Oh, and (4) they massively fumbled the only bag they had and now they are bitter and yet STILL trying to make a living on the backs of the people they forced to flee.
This is laughable because we only have to look at W&K to know that people in the UK do, in fact, remodel their homes, even historic ones, when they buy them. Kate ripped out a relatively new kitchen in anmer hall to put in a new one. Kate spent who knows how much money on KP1A – where they don’t even pretend to live anymore.
I love Meghan’s kitchen – it looks warm and cozy, even with its size. Most of those all white kitchens look cold and boring to me. The only other celeb kitchens I like are Jennifer Garners (despite all the white lol) and Gwyneth’s – the one with the blue or green cabinets, that might be her montecito house.
And anyway – if Meghan wanted to renovate it, she would. She clearly doesn’t.
I can’t imagine anything about that estate is a laughing stock even in Montecito.
One of my favorite kitchens is still the one Nate Berkus did for Kirstie Alley on Oprah, though looking back now, I’d probably choose a different color for the walls than all the sage tiles (maybe a blue). But it has a nice Italian/Mediterranean feel (e.g., not modern). Nate also said it took two months to do. I’m not crazy about the stone in Meghan’s kitchen, personally, but considering what the last six years have been like for them, it’s easy to see why a time consuming remodeling of the kitchen might not be high priority, as important as we know the kitchen is to Meghan and how central to her family life. Clearly it works for what they need now.
Apart from the fact that it’s nobody’s business, and I highly doubt her kitchen, or their house, stands out as a laughingstock among the many other properties in Montecito, the last paragraph of that article seems to totally contradict whatever silliness Sykes was spewing (citing Kanye West as an example – really?)
It was reported at the time, and people were quite upset about it, that WandK spent 4.2 million refurbishing KP.
That kitchen is gorgeous and anyone would be lucky to have it. I love how cozy it looks – it looks like a kitchen people actually use and cook in. But if they were millionaires lol.
I love their kitchen and based on their previous aesthetic in their kitchen at Frogmore Cottage, they also love it. Meghan used to travel before she met Harry and she once found tiles that she loved so much that she wanted to one day add those tiles to her kitchen. It’s a beautiful kitchen and it reminds me of how I regret not adding the stone work I wanted to my own kitchen. I was just thinking a few weeks ago about doing just that whenever my spouse and I finally come to a final decision on renovations we want to have done to our kitchen. We know they had some renovations done to the house, just based on the changes from previous photos and even Meghan spoke about changes they made and some they kept in their home. Sykes is just an uptight man who is jealous and upset that the Sussexes are living their ideal life and he has no say or access to it. No one worth listening to spends their time fixated on what someone else’s house looks like unless they are interested in it for themselves. It would be weird to be in your own home raging about someone else’s kitchen aesthetic not being what you like. That’s just Karen and Ken behavior of minding the business that doesn’t pay you. He needs to get a life that doesn’t require lying and clinching his butt cheeks whenever the Sussexes breathe.
Those white stone everything flat with no details kitchens are going to look so dated so fast.
I agree. Minimalist kitchens are in the way out. Warmth and color is coming back.
Kate Middleton and her mother have stripped out and redone the kitchens in every single house that Kate and William have ever moved into, all at taxpayers’ expense.
What H+M do with their own money is their flipping business. If they wanted to redo the kitchen they would have done this before moving in. But that is a LARGE kitchen with many features and sections, so they don’t need to feel restricted. They clearly love their kitchen, given how much time they spend there and how many photos and videos we’ve been blessed with of this amazing kitchen.
To my mind, the California kitchen isn’t very far off the design of the kitchen they had in Frogmore Cottage – it also had a central block, with everything else around it. If anything, their current kitchen reflects their own personal tastes. No wonder they fell in love with the Montecito house. It’s not a show kitchen, it’s a family kitchen which is in use, with love, every single day. It’s the sort of kitchen in which many beautiful memories can be made. I love it.
Speaking of which, I’ve always wanted an overhead hanging pot rack like the one they’ve got with the copper pans, and actually redoubled my efforts to find a nice one from the first time I saw the images of the Sussex kitchen. 🙂 It’s a great way to free up cupboard space.
Given how much Meghan loves to cook, I imagine that the kitchen was one of the house’s selling points. Whenever I’m looking at apartment listings, the first thing I look at is how the kitchen is set up.
They also had an actual small child and were trying to expand their family when they moved in. Why would they want to live in chaos or delay setting down roots? It’s not like they have a portfolio of gifted homes in California to utilize during a reno.
What’s this obsession with H&M renovating or not? I absolutely guarantee if they did remodel their house they would have been labelled as gaudy and grubby wannabes.
I am aware rich people are bored and gossipy but I’d like to think people aren’t that bothered by it.
Uk media reduced to substack and YouTube. Losing their homes and one the other day (can’t remember her name) saw it on a pro Meghan site whose ceiling collapsed. Sykes born into privilege and wound up an alcoholic and drug taker by his own admission. Yeah someone is a laughing stock and it’s not the accomplished, intelligent, self made millionaire, philanthropist, beautiful woman who smashed the conveyor belt and won the heart of a prince.
Imagine living the life of a royal “reporter” like Sykes, you know?
Exactly… I actually have some pity for him! imagine having to write this drive for a living! No wonder they are so bitter about it
the “olive garden “insult is straight from the derangers.
Olive Garden or no, this kitchen is the stuff of my dreams.
i love the blue tile work.
Remodeling to be more in style is a huge pet peeve of mine. So, I applaud her. Plus her kitchen is warm and wonderful. Quality is better than style any day imo.
JP Caonabo (who I love – always writes in such a considered way about the Sussexes and the media) wrote about Hello! magazine’s running with the same story, a really good read.
“Hello!’s “they should be renovating” tone deserves particular attention, because it’s a form of class-coded criticism. The message sits just below the surface: your home should look a certain way, follow certain trends, and match public expectations.
This kind of class-coded criticism has a long history. British celebrity coverage has always had a complicated relationship with class. It celebrates wealth and status, but it also polices how wealth should look and behave. There’s an unspoken rulebook about taste, tradition and respectability. Homes should feel grand but not flashy, modern but not too modern, luxurious but not “showy”. When a celebrity’s home falls outside these narrow expectations, the tone quickly shifts from admiration to mockery.
But criticism of taste is rarely just about taste. Ideas about what counts as “good taste” in Britain have deep roots in history, empire and class hierarchy. Certain styles are treated as timeless and refined, while others are framed as excessive, trendy or gauche. These judgements may look neutral, but they’re shaped by long-standing cultural norms about who belongs … and who doesn’t.”
The whole article is worth reading: https://unpacked4.wordpress.com/2026/05/15/hello-magazines-tabloid-tricks-in-this-harry-and-meghan-story/
I’d bet a thousand bucks this ‘source’ who ‘lives near’ them who spoke about this is just that same English grifter who lives near Monticeto who runs that little blog. I forget his name but he’s the one they always talk to about what Monticeto neighbors think and he greatly obliges with derogatory comments for their articles. He was even in that failed German documentary that they hyped up so much that was going to expose Meghan and ruin her lol
I’ll also say, if she HAD renovated that kitchen into a modern sterile white aesthetic they would be criticizing her for destroying the character of the place and acting too new money.
I’m an interior designer and the kitchen is dated sure but gorgeous. It is very well done in that rustic continental style and for whatever reason Delft tiles are back in right now, big time.
This reminds me of a lot of the kind of stories we get from UK based royal reporters. “Someone who lives near them in Montecito” is doing a lot of work. Basically, a rando saw their kitchen on TV or social media and had a snarky opinion- BIG DEAL.
This person does not know them, has not been to their house and does not know that they can’t afford to remodel. This person doesn’t even have the same kind of house themselves otherwise that would have been mentioned, not ‘they live near to houses like that’. What a qualification. “I live near rich people so I can tell you why this rich couple have done that”?!?
It’s very possible that the person does know people who live in houses like the Sussexes and enough to form the opinion that the kitchen is out of style and that people usually remodel when they move in but they don’t know why the Sussexes haven’t done so or if the Sussexes even want to. I don’t assume that the reason Kate dresses pretty badly and unfashionably in her downtime (especially compared to Rose Hanbury) is that she can’t afford to dress better? I think Kate can and I don’t think it’s William preventing but it’s that she (and Sophie) have no fashion sense.
It’s also a wierd flex even if frugality is the reason given that big part of the Windsors’ self-mythology is the performative penny pinching and ‘make-do-and-mend’ ing and that Meghan was criticised for apparently frivolous spending? If this is true, honestly, I find it reassuring as an active sign of managing money and prioritising expenses. Why compare Harry and Meghan to billionaires- they aren’t that? I do think Meghan could have pulled a billionaire even before Suits but I think she chose love, an equal partnership and a life of purpose.
It’s very much along the same lines of “A person who is familiar with the couple [who worked at the Palaces 10+ years ago, wasn’t close to them, doesn’t understand them and can only speculate about their actions and motives in the present through an insanely negative, misogynistic, xenophobic and classist lens] has said they it sounds as if [something bad is happening to them now because they are bad and stupid, especially her] ”
Highly likely that this a social media theory that got ‘I live near them’ added to make it seem authoritive and is now being laundered into first hand insight by Sykes. At what point do Derangers start rejecting this sloppy hatefic? It’s no better than what they could make up in one of their heads which, of course, is probably where this started in the first place…
This is really sad. What on earth is happening with British journalism?
I refuse to follow his line of reasoning. Meghan can do whatever she wants – keep the kitchen as she finds it, or refurbish if she decides to do so in the future.
That this becomes an issue for two grown-ass men to be discussing and writing about says more about them, than it does about Harry and Meghan.
Tom Sykes is such a see you next Tuesday. Her kitchen is lovely. Is it my taste? NO. But pretty sure most people would think my kitchen too modern and too cold. This whole hierarchy of taste is absolute bullshit. “good taste” reeks of elite-ism.
The bottom line is that the only people who’s opinion matters are Meghan and Harry. It’s their kitchen. They don’t have to perform these rituals of remodeling to ‘hope’ they are accepted by a certain section of people/ the public. They are not clout- chasing. If you don’t like Meghan’s kitchen, Sykes, don’t look at the pictures. I’m pretty sure you haven’t been invited in.
I’d bet good money that Meghan is unbothered by these people’s opinion of her kitchen and she enjoys her beautiful home every day.
Sure, wealthy people with more money than sense and and terrible taste.
Chris Pratt tore down the lovely home of the late great Ray Bradbury.
It should have been a national protected historical home.
Pratt could have bought a real tear down but chose a lovely “vintage” home to raze