Meghan Markle’s former friend and PR Guru Nick Ede addressed her new move Down Under. The Duchess of Sussex made her debut appearance on MasterChef Australia as a guest judge and the episode pulled in over a million viewers.
The episode was filmed in April, when Prince Harry and Meghan visited Australia where they completed a series of engagements in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. More than 1.5 million people watched the show as it broke the record for the biggest overnight Sunday audience since July 2023 and the biggest-ever overnight streaming audience, according to figures released by broadcaster Network 10.
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Her former friend has opened up about Meghan’s on-screen debut and in a three word bombshell suggested the Duchess is “confusing her fans”. Meghan was introduced as a guest judge on the show, which aired on Sunday (July 26), where she guided contestants to create a dish “fit for a Duchess”.
In conversation with Cafe Casino, Nick suggested the duchess did not come across relatable to viewers.
He explained: “I think she came across as she always does, someone who is polished and slick, but she wasn’t relatable and she couldn’t answer simple questions about her favourite food for her family which felt a bit odd as it’s a cooking show.
She also said that she would have home-cooked meals made lovingly by her mother but on With, Love Meghan, she said she was a latchkey kid living off fast food, so once again confusing her fans.”
Nick also addressed her decision to not be called Duchess of Sussex.
“She wanted to drop it so she could be more relatable to the contestants and the audience but the whole episode was centred around a dish fit for a duchess, and she will have been briefed on this when they pitched it to her so it feels confusing that she wanted to drop it!”
Meghan appeared alongside MasterChef Australia judges Poh Ling Yeow, Sofia Levin and Jean-Christophe Novelli.
Chef Novelli asked the royal: “Can I ask you please, Meghan, what is your favourite dish to cook for the family?”
She did not name a single meal, saying it was a “tough question” because she has a “lot of palates to appease”.
Meghan replied: “It’s a tough one. It’s a tough one because I have a lot of palates to appease. My husband, being from the UK, loves a lot of meat, potatoes, cream sauce.
“California girl, I like grilled fish, grilled meats, lots of citrus. I just like using really pure, natural herbs and spices, you know, again, if you can pull fresh ‘ erbs like, do you say ‘ erbs or herbs here?”
Nick first met Meghan during her time on Suits and helped her set up agency meetings to explore opportunities in the UK.
They became friends and would often frequent Soho House together and go on regular shopping trips. They eventually lost touch before she went on to wed Harry.
