At the height of her fame, Meghan Markle was at the centre of a group of mega A-list friends, from Serena Williams to Beyoncé. But in the presence of a host of high-powered women, including Reese Witherspoon and Gwyneth Paltrow, at an all-female business summit at the Hamptons last week, the Duchess of Sussex’s attempts at networking seemed less successful.
In fact, Meghan, 42, was only pictured at the G9 Ventures Summer Summit with her long-time BFF, fashion designer Misha Nonoo. Her apparent failure to hobnob with the richest and most powerful ladies in Hollywood will likely have upset the Duchess who, insiders tell heat, is turning to philanthropy in a bid to save her image.
“With a lot of her recent ventures seemingly falling flat, Meghan’s decided that becoming a philanthropist and throwing herself into charity work is the best way to salvage her public image. If there’s any glimmer of a future in Hollywood, this is the last chance.”
The insider claims Meghan was mortified that Reese, Gwyneth and Laura “snubbed” her at the event. “She was gutted that all the ‘real stars’ simply ignored her,” we’re told. “She was hoping the summit would be an opportunity for her to try to make some A-list connections, so it was a real wake-up call for her to realise that people who may have once been in her awe of her as a member of the royal family wouldn’t give her the time of day.”
Of course, charity work has been important to Meghan since way back in her days on Suits. As well as running her Archewell Foundation with Prince Harry, she’s remained passionate about girls’ education. But in recent years, it’s taken something of a backseat as the mother-of-two has focused on her media deals with Netflix and Spotify, as well as her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard. Meghan enlisted her famous friends for the launch of her homeware line, with everyone from Tracee Ellis Ross to Kris Jenner revealing a sample from her first batch of jam.
And after some crisis talks about how to reinvigorate her famous friendships – and snag some new ones – we’re told, “Meghan is on a mission to put her charity work back at the forefront of her personal brand. She’s reaching out to the few remaining contacts she has in the showbiz world. She’s desperate to get back in with Hollywood’s elite.”
The source adds, “She’s made a list of the top celebrities she wants to target – enlisting her team to reach out to the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyonce and Dolly Parton, who all run their own foundations. She really needs these A-list connections.”