Duchess speaks at ‘Her Best Life’ retreat, joined by Prince Harry
Freedom By George Michael made a big impact when Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, appeared on stage. Best Life We’ll be back for a gala dinner in Sydney on Friday afternoon.
Helped by her husband Prince Harry, the surprise guest of the event, and holding her hand as she walked, the duchess wore a cream two-piece dress from Australian brand Scanlan Theodore for her meeting with the event organizer Gemma O’Neill.
At the Coogee Beach InterContinental hotel, they talked about Meghan’s career, family life and the trappings of fame to a rapt audience of more than 200 women, some of whom paid thousands to be in the room; but questions about former royal life seemed off the table.
It was the main event of the three-day retreat and the penultimate stop of Meghan and Harry’s tour of Australia, which ended with their attendance at the Waratahs-Moana Pacifica rugby match that night.
Early Friday, attendees checked into the hotel as media was kept away and guests were told not to approach.
Liliana Sanelli, 49, traveled from Melbourne to attend the retreat with her best friend. The entrepreneur and philanthropist said the Q&A between O’Neill and Meghan was “wonderful.”
“The majority of women I spoke to last night were completely fascinated by it,” she said. “He transformed a room that came in saying, ‘I don’t know what to expect.'”
Sanelli said Meghan made no reference to royal life. “It was more about him [Netflix] TV series, books, what he’s doing, what’s coming,” he said.
Marketing expert and content creator Megan Towner, 39, traveled from the Gold Coast with her sister for the event. He said Meghan’s main message was about “how she wants to share positivity with the world.”
“You know, he was saying, if we don’t stand up for what’s right and kind of speak our truth, even if we’re not the ones putting out the negativity, if we’re not actively stopping that or speaking out what’s right, then that’s not good either.”
Sanelli said the entire room was captivated when Meghan described her experience with online harassment.
“He shared every day that this meant so much to them,” she recalled.
“She said, ‘As a woman, every day there’s an article written about me in some way,’ and she said she was influenced by some terrible trolling, clickbait,” Sanelli said, noting that O’Neill also said she received backlash online for organizing the event.
“There was a moment where everyone in the room saw the pain that women were trying to go through but how quick it was to pull someone down instead of supporting them. And it was a really touching moment because we were all moved to tears.”
Meghan also opened up about her relationship with Harry (or “H” as she calls him), who sat supportively on stage. He described how they made it a priority to eat breakfast and often lunch together and take turns dropping off school.
Meghan, who received an appearance fee, only stayed at the event for two hours, but that didn’t matter to attendees. “There was no disappointment,” Towner said.
Sanelli and Towner, who purchased the $3,199 VIP package, had the opportunity to take a group photo with Meghan.
Sanelli said the group was “really engaging and kind” as they learned their names and shook their hands.
Even Towner laughed with him. “We had a bit of a joke because obviously we have the same name and I just said mine was the Aussie version,” he said.
After Meghan and Harry left, guests were treated to a rotating three-course meal. A dance floor was then opened.
The night’s DJ, Claire O’Shea, described the vibe as “super fun” with a “multi-generational” crowd.
“There were women in their 20s dancing with their mothers,” he said.
The event was the beginning Best Life The retreat is hosted by O’Neill, who has a podcast of the same name.
O’Neill had first contacted Meghan through their mutual friend Markus Anderson, one of the directors of international private members club Soho House, who attended the event.
Other high-profile guests included radio hosts and former co-host of the show, Jackie “O” Henderson. Best Life Podcast where O’Neill manages her career and Carrie Bickmore.
It was a turbulent time for O’Neill. She announced at the beginning of the month that she would be taking a break from the podcast after suffering a miscarriage. Around the same time, it was revealed that her business, Gemmie Agency, had gone into voluntary liquidation with debts of $546,000.
“I stand by my integrity, my work, and how I have conducted myself in business over a very long career,” O’Neill said in a podcast episode about the break.
But recent events seemed far from the minds of those in the Coogee ballroom on Friday.
“Gemma deserves the credit,” Sanelli said. “Because it is very difficult to have the courage to do all this, and I admire people like that.”
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