Meghan Markle mocked by fans for hitting ‘sad’ milestone: ‘It’s game over’

Meghan Markle was savaged by fans after reaching a personal milestone this week. The Duchess of Sussex celebrated her lifestyle brand’s first anniversary on Thursday, April 2.

As Ever launched on April 2, 2025 and the first collection sold out within minutes. At the time, the Duchess posted a picture of herself spooning her jam on Instagram, with the caption: “We’re live! Come shop the As ever collection I’ve poured so much love into. So excited to share this with you *Limited quantities for each seasonal drop*”

But, while some fans praised As Ever as a brand, others dubbed its anniversary “sad” and claimed the brand launch had been a huge flop.

A user said on Reddit: “Did anyone think As Ever would fall so quickly? So spectacularly? Has there been any other celebrity brand that’s been knocked out in less than a year’s time? You have to actively be horrible at business to see the same result that Meghan has.

“I’m going to be honest and say that even I’ve been a tad bit surprised (but oh so pleasantly so) at just how bad she is in e-commerce.”

They added: “I believe it’s game over for her company. It’s on life support. She’s producing absolutely nothing new and nothing of value. No seasonal drops of her own creation. It’s stale and stagnant. Not innovative and fresh. Oh gee this is getting good!”

Another user agreed: “AE fell like a barrel over Niagara Falls. And we all had a front row seat.”

A third one said: “It is genuinely shocking that a product line could fail so spectacularly with the backing of a company like Netflix.”

A fourth one commented: “I’m honestly not at all surprised that it hasn’t happened. Everything she has attempted has failed.”

Meghan’s first collection for As Ever included nine products in total: a raspberry spread in keepsake packaging, a raspberry spread without keepsake packaging, herbal lemon ginger tea, herbal peppermint tea, herbal hibiscus tea, her flower sprinkles, crepe mix, shortbread cookie mix with flower sprinkles included and a limited-edition wildflower honey with honeycomb.

She then went on to launch various other products, including bookmarks, chocolate and wine.

Despite the critics, others appeared to be in full support and praise of the Duchess’s brand.

Following her latest flower launch, one user said on X: “#AseverbyMeghan is classy company that does everything with excellence.”

Another one added: “Can’t wait for the gardenias to be in full bloom. I love the mix of peonies in there as well. So lovely. #Aseverofficial and #Highcampsupply collab. Thank you Meghan, Duchess of Sussex I’m having such an amazing time putting these together.”

A third one chimed: “The #AsEverbyMeghan products are addictive.”

Meghan and her team are understood to be “blocking out the noise,” with the Duchess determined to make further progress with her lifestyle brand.

The Daily Express understands that the Sussex camp remains baffled by what’s been described as a “sustained fixation” on undermining Meghan.

A source close to the Duchess's team said: “We largely block out the noise. There will always be a small but vocal group of commentators who seem to treat criticising everything she does as a kind of sport.

“What is striking is how much hostility is directed at the simple fact that she is trying to build a business, as if that is somehow inappropriate or illegitimate. It’s an odd reaction.

“She and her husband stepped away from the institution and are financially independent. You would have thought that was precisely what critics wanted.”