Last week was surprisingly full of Martha Stewart drama. Martha covered last week’s issue of People Magazine, and she gave them an exclusive interview. People asked her an innocent question about how often she goes out to parties these days, and within her answer, Martha announced that she had recently attended a dinner party in California which was also attended by the Duchess of Sussex. Martha said: “I had dinner with Meghan Markle the other night. We were both guests at a dinner party in California. And she had just gotten back from the palace. I didn’t talk to her really more than to say a couple words, but I know she was talking about it.” Within a day, an unnamed source pushed back, saying that Martha and Meghan were not seated together and Meghan did not speak about her UK visit.

Then, to make matters even funnier, the host/hostess of the dinner party went to People Magazine and also pushed back on Martha, saying: “I sat next to Meghan at the dinner party, and this account of what happened is simply untrue. Meghan didn’t talk about her European vacation other than to say the family had a great time. Meghan has always been a fan of Martha’s and enjoyed getting to meet her briefly at the dinner.” My interpretation of all of this is kind of different than most people. Like, I thought Martha was downright bragging about being in the same space as Meghan – Martha clearly couldn’t wait to gossip about it with People Mag, and she spilled her tea like a nosy busybody (which is what she is). Meghan would have shrugged it off, except that Martha included that bit about “I know she was talking about” her UK visit. Meghan has seen comments like this blow up a million times before, so her people pushed back quickly, and possibly even contacted the dinner party host and asked them to go to People. Well, according to Rob Shuter, Meghan has also tried to contact Martha:

Martha Stewart may have thought her People interview was just another friendly chat. Then she mentioned Meghan Markle — and suddenly, we had a celebrity standoff. Martha said she had recently attended a California dinner with Meghan after Meghan returned from the palace, and suggested Meghan had been gossiping about the trip. Then Meghan’s camp pushed back.

The dinner’s host contacted People and called Martha’s account “simply untrue,” insisting Meghan said nothing about the European trip beyond “the family had a great time.” Martha was even described as “confused.” Ouch.

Martha has not publicly responded yet, but my sources tell me she has no intention of retracting her story.

“Martha said what she said,” one source tells me. “She was there, she remembers the conversation and she has no reason to invent it.”

Now comes the twist: I’m told Meghan has tried to reach Martha directly.

“Meghan would rather talk to Martha directly than let this become a bigger thing,” an insider tells me. “She wants to clear the air and doesn’t want this hanging over them.”

That would fit Meghan’s approach to celebrity feuds. When Gwyneth Paltrow was once asked about rumors involving Meghan, she famously said she didn’t understand the rumor before turning the camera toward Meghan, who was sitting beside her eating pie. Meghan simply shrugged and later reposted the clip. But Martha isn’t Gwyneth. This time, I’m told, Martha is standing by her story — while Meghan is trying to make peace.

[From Rob Shuter’s Substack]

What “story”? Martha’s whole story was that she overheard Meghan say something about her UK trip during a dinner party. That was it – just a piece of gossip about something Martha halfway overheard. The host has come out and said that it didn’t happen like that. I would argue both “versions” are probably true – someone asked Meghan about her summer travels, and she probably said something vague and appropriate for a dinner party, like “we had a lovely time, it was nice to see family.” And it would also make sense if Meghan was trying to contact Martha directly, just to clear the air.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.