Just a day after releasing the first episode of her new podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder,” Meghan Markle is already facing a wave of criticism from UK media outlets.
Despite the excitement surrounding his return to podcasting, the reception has been anything but warm.
Meghan Markle Podcast Reviews
The episode, which runs nearly 50 minutes, features Markle in conversation with her longtime friend and Bumble founder, Whitney Wolfe Herd.
While the podcast was expected to highlight Wolfe Herd’s path to becoming a tech entrepreneur and billionaire, many reviewers felt the opportunity was squandered.
Several critics pointed out that Markle repeatedly steered the conversation toward herself rather than focusing on the guest.
There was little exploration of Wolfe Herd’s actual business acumen or the challenges she overcame in building Bumble.
Instead, the talk was filled with general reflections on self-love, validation, and energy — topics that some reviewers found superficial.
James Marriott from The Times of London gave a scathing one-star review. He wrote that listening to the episode made him feel like beating his head against a wall.
His main issue: “Receiving business advice from a Californian multimillionaire who owes her fortune to marrying a prince is as illuminating as you would expect.” He added that the podcast lacked substance, offering “lots of guff about how to love yourself” but nothing practical about running a business.
Another voice of disapproval came from The Telegraph‘s Chris Bennion, who gave the podcast two stars.
He described the conversation as “an inane stream of mindless aphorisms,” noting that there were no real “confessions” or secrets, despite what the title promised.
He found it frustrating that a woman as accomplished as Wolfe Herd was reduced to vague mantras about empowerment rather than offering meaningful insights into her journey.
Rachel Aroesti from The Guardian echoed this sentiment, calling the show a “sycophantic interview podcast” and criticizing its overly admiring tone.
She noted that it resembled “an effusive chinwag between two like-minded pals” that lacked clear direction or valuable content for listeners seeking real business advice.
Meanwhile, The Express took issue with the way Meghan controlled the tone of the episode. According to their review, she set expectations early on by telling Wolfe Herd she wanted the conversation to be “relaxed and easy” — something usually said behind the scenes, not during a recording.
The outlet felt the podcast lacked structure and depth, and that Wolfe Herd’s potential to share hard-earned wisdom was lost in friendly chatter.
Even The Times published a second review, this time by Charlie Gowans-Eglinton, who remarked that nearly nine minutes passed before Wolfe Herd even touched on a business topic — and only briefly. After just 17 seconds, Meghan jumped back in, shifting the focus once again.
For now, the first episode of “Confessions of a Female Founder” leaves many wondering whether future guests will be given the space to truly share their stories, or whether the podcast will remain a platform more focused on Meghan’s perspective than her guests’ experiences.