Meghan Markle is facing renewed backlash during her Australia visit after attendees at a high-priced wellness retreat in Sydney criticized what they described as a brief and underwhelming appearance, intensifying scrutiny of the commercial model underpinning her and Prince Harry's post-royal engagements.
The controversy centers on a weekend retreat held at the InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach, where guests reportedly paid about $3,000 per ticket for a package that included wellness activities and access to a headline appearance by Meghan Markle. According to reports, the Duchess attended for roughly two hours on April 18, participating in an onstage question-and-answer session before departing.
The discrepancy between expectations and delivery quickly surfaced online. One attendee wrote, "Why did Meghan Markle not even share a meal with women who had paid $3000 to spend 'retreat' time with her? How is that kind?" Another added, "She didn't go down there to spend time with any of those people, just to get a few PR photos and collect her share of the takings."
A third comment captured the broader frustration over the structure of the event: "Two hours? I thought it was a weekend retreat? WOW!" The user added, "How ridiculous, they advertised like she was spending the whole weekend with them." The remarks reflect a widening perception gap between how the event was marketed and how participants experienced it.
Meghan Markle's representatives pushed back, emphasizing that her role was clearly defined in advance. A spokesperson said, "Meghan was always confirmed only to attend the retreat for her Q&A portion of the weekend," adding, "She had a lovely time sitting down and talking to [retreat host Gemma O'Neill] in front of such an engaging audience."
Event details suggest a layered offering that extended beyond the Duchess's appearance. The package reportedly included two nights' accommodation, yoga sessions, meditation, sound healing, social events and a gala-style dinner conversation. A leaked itinerary cited by The Guardian indicated that Meghan's schedule involved VIP photo sessions around 4:30 p.m., followed by the Q&A, before she departed for a separate engagement at Allianz Stadium later that evening.
The pricing structure and limited access-reportedly capped at around 300 attendees, with premium tiers offering photo opportunities-highlight a broader monetization strategy built on exclusivity and proximity. Analysts note that such events increasingly blend celebrity access with lifestyle branding, creating hybrid experiences that can blur the line between philanthropy, networking and commercial entertainment.
The backlash also unfolded alongside Meghan Markle's public remarks in Melbourne about online abuse. Speaking at Swinburne University of Technology, she told students she had been "bullied and attacked" online for a decade and described social media as "that billion-dollar industry, that is completely anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks." She added that such a system "is not going to change," arguing that individuals "have to be stronger than that."
