April 8, 2025

Confessions of a Female Founder Episode 1 Recap: Meghan Markle Opens Up About Bullying, Business, and Motherhood in Podcast Debut

Show Notes
Transcript

In the premiere of *Confessions of a Female Founder*, Meghan Markle sits down with Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd for a candid conversation about the brutal side of public life, postpartum health scares, and the highs and lows of launching her lifestyle brand, As Ever. Meghan reflects on being “absolutely consumed” with packaging design, her experience with postpartum preeclampsia, and how she balances business with preschool pick-ups. Wolfe Herd praises Meghan’s resilience, calling her “a very strong cookie,” while the Duchess shares her rule for facing criticism: “You have to decide whether you’re going to cower or conquer.”

Unlock an ad-free podcast experience with Caloroga Shark Media! Get all our shows on any player you love, hassle free! For Apple users, hit the banner on your Apple podcasts app which seays UNINTERRUPTED LISTENING. For Spotify or other players, visit caloroga.com/plus. No plug-ins needed! You also get 20+ other shows on the network ad-free!

Subscribe to Deep Crown’s free newsletter at https://deepcrown.substack.com

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:13.880
Caloroga Shark Media. Hello and welcome to a special bonus

2
00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.839
episode of Palace Intrigue. I'm host Mark Francis. In the

3
00:00:17.879 --> 00:00:22.280
premiere episode of Confessions of a Female Founder, Meghan Markl

4
00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:26.000
sat down with Bumble founder Whitney wolf Heard for a

5
00:00:26.039 --> 00:00:30.480
wide ranging conversation about life, business, and mental toll of

6
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:35.280
public scrutiny. In the episode released Tuesday, Megan spoke candidly

7
00:00:35.320 --> 00:00:40.759
about the toll of public scrutiny, her experience with postparton preclamsia,

8
00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.920
and the challenges of balancing motherhood with the launch of

9
00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:47.679
her lifestyle brand. As Ever, Whitney wolf Herd, described as

10
00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:50.439
a close friend, praised Meghan for enduring what she described

11
00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:54.560
as a brutalizing level of media bullying. When I see

12
00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:56.719
the way you've been treated in the media, my heart

13
00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:00.759
breaks for you, wolf Heard said, It's not fair. Michael replied,

14
00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.239
maybe because you understand it in whatever degree, you know

15
00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:07.359
how to show up for me. The Dutchess pushed back

16
00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:10.200
on the notion that her experience was entirely unique. It

17
00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:13.159
doesn't feel different whether it's at that scale or not.

18
00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:16.280
No matter whatever scale you're at, there's going to be

19
00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:18.400
a point where you take a hit and you have

20
00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:21.760
to decide whether you're going to Kowa Wolf heard, reflecting

21
00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:24.719
on Meghan's experience in the media, said, I do think

22
00:01:24.760 --> 00:01:26.879
there is so much to be said for your ability

23
00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:29.840
to exist even in the presence of that. It takes

24
00:01:29.879 --> 00:01:32.159
a very strong cookie. When I was going through the

25
00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.760
media storm and being called this and that and this

26
00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:37.560
and that tinder, I didn't leave my house for like

27
00:01:37.599 --> 00:01:41.120
a month and a half. The conversation turned toward entrepreneurship.

28
00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:44.239
Reflecting on her new venture, Meghan said, you're just trying

29
00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:45.879
to figure out how to walk, and then you want

30
00:01:45.920 --> 00:01:47.239
to learn how to run, and then you want to

31
00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:50.280
learn how to fly. There's something very exciting and energizing

32
00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:54.079
about learning something new as we get older. Meghan shared

33
00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:56.319
how deeply involved she has been in the details of

34
00:01:56.319 --> 00:02:00.599
her new lifestyle brand as ever, particularly the packaging. It's

35
00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:02.640
all I could think about, she said, I would sit

36
00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.920
there doing the unboxing. In my head, is that tissue paper?

37
00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:09.400
What about the packing peanuts? But they're biodegradable. Where it's

38
00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:11.560
the sticker go? And what size the box is going

39
00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:14.199
to be? She was a recalled learning a new term

40
00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:16.400
along the way. Someone says, but you don't want to

41
00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:19.240
brand the outside of the box because of porch pirates.

42
00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:21.840
I had never heard that before. What's a porch pirate?

43
00:02:22.280 --> 00:02:24.360
Wolf heard later reflected on how time was the one

44
00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:28.159
resource founders can't reclaim, the one thing you can never

45
00:02:28.199 --> 00:02:30.759
get back. This time, she told Meghan the amount of

46
00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:33.599
time Meg, that I wasted on being stressed and being miserable,

47
00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:37.759
being overwhelmed, being paranoid about what shoe was going to drop.

48
00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:40.400
I actually think I would have been more successful had

49
00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:43.439
I not been like that. Meghan sympathized with the feeling,

50
00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:45.919
but questioned how realistic it is to simply let go

51
00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:48.520
of stress. But can you turn it off? I say

52
00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:50.280
this because last night I was you know, when your

53
00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:52.840
brain goes in a loop, those three am loops, and

54
00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:56.639
you can't stop overthinking the thing irresponsible for her, She

55
00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:59.280
had a personal strategy she uses to bring perspective in

56
00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:02.960
moments of will this matter in five minutes, five hours,

57
00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.639
five days, yes or no? If it's not going to

58
00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:09.039
matter in five years, throw it out the window. She added,

59
00:03:09.080 --> 00:03:10.840
I think you have to really take a deep breath

60
00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:13.080
and say, you know what, how big of a deal

61
00:03:13.199 --> 00:03:14.840
is this? If this is not going to be a

62
00:03:14.840 --> 00:03:17.400
defining issue in your business, your life, your family in

63
00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:20.680
five years, like, you'll be fine. And when it comes

64
00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:22.879
to the kind of details that can keep founders up

65
00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:26.639
at night, even something as seemingly small as a box texture,

66
00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.680
wolf Heard had this to say, when you're ruminating in

67
00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:31.400
the middle of the night and you're like, oh, but

68
00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:33.879
the box came out the wrong texture, Well, is that

69
00:03:33.960 --> 00:03:36.520
a problem in five months? Not really, because you can

70
00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:39.680
switch to that box. The conversation also turned a deeply

71
00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:42.879
personal as both women revealed they had suffered from postpartum preclamsy,

72
00:03:43.360 --> 00:03:46.800
a rare and dangerous condition that can occur after childbirth.

73
00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:49.759
Meghan said, it's so rare and so scary, and you're

74
00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:51.919
still trying to juggle all of these things, and in

75
00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.159
the quiet, you're still trying to show up for people,

76
00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:58.520
mostly for your children. Wolf Heard reflected on Meghan's public

77
00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:01.479
unveiling of Archie just two days after giving birth in

78
00:04:01.520 --> 00:04:04.280
twenty nineteen in a photo call at Saint George's Hall

79
00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:07.639
and Windsor Castle in May twenty nineteen, She told the podcast,

80
00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:09.560
and I mean, I'll never forget the image of you

81
00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:12.280
after you delivered Archie and the whole world was waiting

82
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:15.360
for his debut. I was either just becoming or about

83
00:04:15.400 --> 00:04:17.279
to become a new mom, and I was like, oh

84
00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.360
my god, how is this woman doing this? How's this

85
00:04:19.399 --> 00:04:22.480
woman putting on heels and going out and debuting a

86
00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:26.120
child in this beautiful outfit in front of the entire world.

87
00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:29.600
Wolf Heard added, I could barely face a door belt

88
00:04:29.639 --> 00:04:33.560
delivery for takeout food. Megan admitted, you're just trying to

89
00:04:33.560 --> 00:04:36.720
hold it together in the world doesn't know what's happening. Quietly.

90
00:04:37.240 --> 00:04:39.839
She also opened up about her current home life in Montecito,

91
00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:42.519
where she lives with Printarry and their children. My office

92
00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:45.000
is here. I wouldn't have it any other way, she said.

93
00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:47.120
If Lily wakes up and wants to find me, she

94
00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:49.360
knows where to find me, even if my door is closed.

95
00:04:50.240 --> 00:04:53.120
The Duchess described the juggling act of parenting and building

96
00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:56.279
a business in the pandemic era culture. You're building something

97
00:04:56.360 --> 00:04:59.360
while your child's going through potty training both and just

98
00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:08.480
as important, more powacy just a moment. Nick Bullan, co

99
00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:11.399
founder of True Royalty TV, believes the Duchess of Sussex

100
00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:13.319
would do well to study one aspect of her late

101
00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:18.079
mother in law's tragically brief life restraint. Bullan told Fox

102
00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:21.720
News Digital Diana was strategic, she was savvy and when

103
00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:25.279
she chose to speak, it matted. British broadcaster and photographer

104
00:05:25.319 --> 00:05:28.160
Helena Chard added this is a big deal for Megan.

105
00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.160
She needs this podcast to do well and compliment her

106
00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:35.720
new as ever brand and business entrepreneur aspirations. Her cookery

107
00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:38.000
show seems to have bombed and the previous podcast deal

108
00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:41.319
with Spotify flopped, so the desire to succeed this time

109
00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:46.040
is weighing heavily on her shoulders. Hillary Fordage, another Royal commentator,

110
00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.079
warned that sadly for her, she's been met with universal derision.

111
00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:52.680
She continued, this certainly does not bode well for her

112
00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:55.920
new podcast. Her credibility as a media creator is under

113
00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:59.959
intense scrutiny, with every project to date being labeled superficial

114
00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:04.040
and or over exposed. Spotify parted ways with Megan and

115
00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:06.000
Prince Hary in twenty twenty three following the end of

116
00:06:06.040 --> 00:06:10.399
their Archetypes series. After the split, Spotify executive and podcaster

117
00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:14.560
Bill Simmons labeled the Sussex Grifters, declaring the e fing

118
00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:17.079
grifters that's the podcast we should have launched with them,

119
00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:20.480
f them the grifters. When we checked at nine am

120
00:06:20.519 --> 00:06:23.839
Eastern this morning, Confessions of a Female Founder was the

121
00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:26.360
number one hundred and seventy eighth podcast on the Apple

122
00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:30.240
podcast charts and number forty five in the business subcategory,

123
00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:34.800
according to the website podfollow dot com. An industry insider

124
00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:39.120
tells Pallas Intrigue, Apple's podcast chants aren't a reflection of

125
00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:43.199
total downloads. That's a common misconception. They're driven primarily by

126
00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:45.439
how many new followers the show gets in a short

127
00:06:45.480 --> 00:06:50.000
window of time. It's more about momentum than overall audience size.

128
00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:52.680
New shows tend to have an advantage, So I would

129
00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:54.800
expect to see Megan Klein the charts today, but it

130
00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.480
might have been an uneasy breakfast over there at Lemonade

131
00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:00.839
this morning in case you missed, and our regular episode

132
00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:02.480
went out earlier today, and we'll be back in the

133
00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:04.839
morning to tell you about Harry's surprise visit to the

134
00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:07.600
UK and the King's visit to Italy. And there's a

135
00:07:07.639 --> 00:07:11.279
good chance we mentioned Megan once or twice, and there

136
00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:13.839
you have it. To email us who addresses the palace

137
00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:16.079
intric at gmail and dot com. Please follow us a Spotify,

138
00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.040
Apple or the app of your choice and leave us

139
00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:20.199
a nice review if you're enjoined. The show in Mark

140
00:07:20.279 --> 00:07:23.839
Francis by thanks to John McDermott, this Palace injury and

141
00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:25.680
good terms

Confessions of a Female Founder Episode 1 Recap: Meghan Markle Opens Up About Bullying, Business, and Motherhood in Podcast Debut

Listen On

Recent Episodes