Far from a fairy tale: Netflix ‘is done’ with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, showbiz bible says

Netflix is ​​said to be done with Harry and Meghan, according to the couple’s brutal takedown in Hollywood entertainment book Variety.

The union between the two parties is ‘far from a fairytale’, says a new lengthy report examining the deal with the publisher, which allegedly originated with half a dozen well-placed people.

“Netflix’s perception of selling repackaged versions of the same story about the Sussexes’ exit from royal life has exhausted Netflix,” the magazine says.

The article goes on to claim: ‘Their partnership may continue to wane, and with it Meghan and Harry’s remaining showbiz lifeline.’

‘The mood in the building is ‘We’re done,” one source is quoted as saying.’

In a series of devastating claims, the magazine says the couple’s “bedside manner in meetings has ruffled feathers”, while “lackluster” ratings for programs such as With Love, Meghan have raised serious doubts at the broadcaster.

The couple’s company, Archewell Productions, has also been accused of ‘poor communication’ in its dealings with Netflix.

There are even claims that Netflix chief Ted Sarandos is ‘fed up with the duo’, which have been strongly denied by both Netflix and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lawyer.

Their perceived pattern of retelling the same story, starting with Harry and Meghan (pictured) in 2022, was said to be tiring for the broadcaster

The couple’s company, Archewell Productions, has also been accused of ‘poor communication’ in its dealings with Netflix

He is said to have stated that he would not sit down for a meeting with Meghan ‘unless a lawyer is on the line’.

Netflix said this was ‘absolutely false’, while solicitor Michael J Kump, acting for Sussex, called it a ‘blatant lie’ in a letter to Variety and claimed Meghan regularly spoke and texted with Mr Sarandos, as well as ‘going to his house except for lawyers’.

The article also says that Netflix, which Variety says paid around £45 million for a five-year deal with the Sussexes, was ‘pissed off’ by two insiders’ decision to give the couple a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey following their acrimonious split from the Royal Family.

It was also said the company had been “blindsided once again” by Harry’s decision to publish his scathing memoir Spare, the details of which were “downplayed” by Meghan.

The magazine suggests that executives felt both projects had an impact on the hit documentary they shot with the duo.

But a spokesperson for the Sussexes insists they cooperated with Netflix from start to finish.

The magazine claims that despite the success of Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, ‘A-list talent and directors’ were ‘wary of working with the duo’ given their track record and many projects were cancelled.

Despite the publisher’s insistence that they stick with the pair through a “first look” deal, “sales reps and filmmakers in the field” are said to be uninterested in Archewell Productions’ involvement in the projects, according to four different sources, according to the magazine.

In the photo taken in Vancouver before the 2025 Invictus Games, the Sussexes insisted through a spokesperson that they were cooperating with Netflix from start to finish.

Netflix was said to be ‘angry’ that the couple gave a tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021 (pictured)

Variety also makes explosive claims about Meghan’s style and approach to business dealings.

The publication notes: ‘In virtual and in-person meetings with partners, sources say Prince Harry is sometimes tempted to talk about or reframe Prince Harry’s thoughts while in mid-sentence (often after a tap on the arm or thigh).’

In a letter to the magazine, Mr Kump says the allegation ‘seems calculated to impress her misogynistic description of her as bossy to her husband’.

It is stated that Prince Harry also confirmed that this was ‘categorically false’.

The article also claims that three different sources told its author that the duchess ‘has strange ways of giving feedback’, particularly ‘disappearing’ during Zoom calls to point out her ‘crime’.

Mr Kump claims this was due to her being occasionally distracted by “working from home and being a mother to young children”.

The magazine says Meghan has ‘cratered’ after her second series With Love, with sources telling them ‘Netflix has lost faith in the former royal family’.

He concludes: ‘After half a decade of inconsistent showings, strategic shifts, false starts and a waning popular imagination, are the Sussexes really living the Hollywood dream they envisioned?’

Netflix boss Ted Sarandos (pictured) is said to be ‘fed up with the couple’

Shows such as With Love, Meghan (pictured) failed to live up to expectations, contributing to the decline in the relationship between the broadcaster and the couple

The insider revelations come less than two weeks after it was revealed that Netflix had parted ways with Meghan’s lifestyle brand As Ever.

The series, which produces products such as wine, tea and jam, first launched in April 2025 in partnership with Netflix’s Consumer Products division to coincide with the release of With Love, Meghan.

Both the brand and the show now appear to have been discontinued – but a spokesperson for Sussex told Variety that there will continue to be ‘seasonal specials’.

But the ‘Holiday Celebration’ episode, which aired last December, flopped, with Daily Mail critic Annabel Fenwick Elliott giving it zero out of five and branding it ‘unpleasant’.

She wrote: ‘What continues to make her, and this show, so unlikeable is the syrupy hypocrisy and our hostess’ profound lack of self-awareness.

‘If only she could lean into that waspish Type A personality of hers – even poke fun at herself a little – she could be almost endearing, in a similar way to Monica from Friends.’

But proving that when one door closes, another opens, Meghan has since signed up to headline the “ultimate girls” weekend in Australia; Here he will give a gala dinner speech and take photos with VIP guests.

Harry and Meghan are returning to Australia next month, eight years after their previous visit in 2018 (pictured)

Meghan is attending a women-only event in Sydney, described as a one-of-a-kind ‘girls weekend’.

Up to 300 guests will be hosted on the three-day luxury break in Sydney from April 17-19, during his trip to the country with the Duke of Sussex.

Meghan pitched the idea to organizer Her Best Life podcast host Gemma O’Neill after a mutual friend contacted her.

VIP ticket holders who pay £1,700 will have front row seats and the chance to have a group table photo taken with the Duchess.

Guests will also treat themselves to morning yoga classes, a ‘sound healing’ experience, meditation and manifestation sessions at the five-star InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach hotel.

But that fantasy has already run into difficulties following news on Monday that Ms O’Neill’s PR agency has gone bankrupt with a massive $500,000 tax bill.

The administrators were said to have been appointed after O’Neill’s talent management company, Gemmie Agency, went into voluntary liquidation in November; The podcaster said he was unable to pay off his debts due to a lack of savings and his “limited income.”

The firm owes A$543,548 to the Australian Taxation Office and A$3,300 to small business Jack Lawrence Accountants and Advisors, News.com.au reported.

A spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex confirmed on Tuesday that she will continue to appear at the Best Life Event, held at the InterContinental Hotel overlooking Coogee Beach in Sydney’s east.

The bankruptcy filing mentions Besties Australia, organizers of the weekend Meghan supported in mid-April.