On Her New Podcast, Meghan Talks Media Scrutiny, Kindness and Family
The New York Times
For the first episode of “Confessions of a Female Founder,” the Duchess of Sussex interviewed Whitney Wolfe Herd, the chief executive of Bumble.
It started with a few sunny posts on Instagram from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Then came “With Love, Meghan,” a Netflix cooking and lifestyle show. Soon after, viewers could buy the edible flowers she sprinkles on cookies and the fruit preserves she loves to talk about in the series, while also browsing a curated selection of her wardrobe staples.
On Tuesday, Meghan continued the rollout of her revamped lifestyle brand, As Ever, with a podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder.” On it, she intends to speak with entrepreneurs about “the sleepless nights and the lessons learned,” and says she will offer listeners a sense of her own thoughts and anxieties along the way.
“I hope ‘Confessions of a Female Founder’ reminds listeners they’re not alone,” Meghan said by email when asked what her ambitions were for the project. “These are honest conversations with women who’ve built from the ground up, faced challenges and kept going. Whether you’re building a business or building self-belief, I hope these stories serve as tools for growth — and feel like you’ve pulled up a seat with us to learn, laugh, and rethink what success can look like.”
In the first episode, which was released on Tuesday, Meghan, 43, interviewed her friend Whitney Wolfe Herd of Bumble, the female-focused dating and networking platform. Ms. Herd stepped down as chief executive of Bumble in 2023 and returned to the role this year.
Meghan called Ms. Herd “the kind of friend who just always seems to know the exact right thing to say when I need perspective.”
The interview, which took place in February, is part of an eight-episode series from Lemonada Media that will be released weekly. (Other guests have not been announced yet.) It comes over two years after Meghan’s Spotify podcast, “Archetypes,” which focused on the labels and tropes that are often applied to women, ended after one season.
