'Meghan Markle's podcast finally has a breakthrough - but she's still making one mistake'
Reach Daily Express April 30, 2025 11:39 PM

Every time I hit play on new episodes of , I hope this will be the one that offers something truly valuable. I find myself wanting more: more depth, more insight, more substance, waiting for a spark that never quite ignites - until I listened to episode four.

The Duchess of Sussex interviews co-founder of IT Cosmetics, Jamie Kern Lima, 47, who sold her brand to L'Oréal in 2016 for $1.2 billion in cash. It was a deal that made her the first CEO of a brand in the company's history - an outstanding achievement and one many new female founders can only dream of obtaining.

Jamie shares a strong but simple message which is a reminder that every setback is simply a setup for a comeback. She shares how important it is to trust your gut instinct, in both business and life, and she's a prime example of being kind and courteous along the way to those who might have given you a knockback, because you never know when your paths might meet again.

The podcast guest describes having , a condition, which she describes as "really bumpy, really bright red," which inspired her to create a makeup brand that effectively addresses skin concerns and provides coverage without irritating sensitive skin. She wanted to create a better way for women to cover and care for their skin, particularly those with similar skin conditions.

What stood out most was the episode's clarity of purpose, "attaining the unattainable", which is the episode's title. The discussion this time round was more structured yet fluid, tackling real-world issues and offering tangible takeaways.

Jamie describes a moment I can vividly imagine happening as a live news reporter, which was one of her previous jobs. When she was live on air in Portland, in her earpiece, a colleague said to her: "There's something on your face! You need to wipe it off!".

She said: "I looked down in my compact and it was my rosacea. . The hot lights were breaking up my makeup and the red was coming through like cracks. I went to cover it up and for the first time it wouldn't cover."

She later added: "I would be anchoring the news live on the air and you're talking to millions of people and I would hear on my earpiece, 'It seems to be back again. It's still there.'"

Jamie goes on to explain how she would spend her paychecks on trying various makeup that wouldn't work. Her worries and stresses further deepened as she pondered over if viewers were switching over, or the news station would have an issue with her look. At the end of her story, she explains her lightbulb moment: "What if I figure out how to launch a product and if it works for me, I can help a whole bunch of other people."

Having anchored and reported live news, Jamie's concerns resonated with my own past experiences. Being in front of the cameras you're constantly subjected to scrutiny from not just the public both verbally and online, but also the way a boss feels you should look or act to represent the station - which can occasionally be disheartening when you can't control your appearance.

There were moments of vulnerability in the episode from the guest which were important learning curves. I walked away from the episode not just having been entertained, but informed and inspired.

Meghan also tried to connect her personal experiences to broader themes in a way that a listener might understand, which appeared smoother than previous episodes.

However, the frustrating thing with Meghan is that she claims to be ignorant of people, their backgrounds and successes. Jamie - a known entrepreneur and author in America, has also appeared on the US version of Dragon's Den called Shark Tank.

Meghan says: "When I met her [Jamie], I didn't know any of that. I knew none of that. I just knew her as Jamie my new neighbour and she soon became my rocking chair friend. The kind of person you could just sit in your sweats and cosies with no makeup on and just chat for hours."

The comment echoed Meghan's during her interview with US host Oprah Winfrey. "Well, I didn't do any research about what that would mean... I'd never looked up my husband online," Meghan said, "I just didn't feel a need to because everything that I needed to know, he was sharing with me, right? Everything that we thought I needed to know, he was telling me."

Another bugbear is or the topic in hand, which she also is in the habit of doing in previous episodes.

In this episode, Meghan feels the need to share her blood type with the world. Five minutes into the first segment, Meghan reveals: "I feel like we haven't talked about our blood type, but yours is probably an A+ like mine, and I was like, even my blood is over achieving.."

Laughing, the Duchess adds: "That's my running joke. Even my blood type. A+, A plus, A plus!"

For those interested in hearing more about Meghan's experiences and insights in this episode, there are also plenty of examples of the challenges Meghan has faced, providing a relatable perspective on her entrepreneurial path.

So far, it does feel like a turning point, not just for the podcast, but for Meghan as a host. Despite making the same mistakes such as leaping in with her own journey and thoughts, there's a newfound confidence in her storytelling, but most importantly, value in the content she's putting out.

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