Meghan Markle finally reacts to 'As Ever' name controversy in podcast

Meghan Markle cleared the air by addressing her lifestyle brand As Ever name controversy in a new podcast episode.

For the unversed, the Duchess of Sussex released a fresh episode of Confessions of a Female Founder today, April 22, featuring the founder of Highbrow Hippie, Kadi Lee.

During the conversation, Meghan opened up about her decision to rebrand American Riviera Orchard to As Ever, revealing that she did not like the old name.

The former Suits actress shared, "I had secured As Ever as a name in 2022, and then as everything started to evolve last year, and bringing in a partner the size that it was, it was just so interesting."

"You remember, I said, 'I like American Riviera as an umbrella,' and then be able to have verticals beneath it. And maybe have the 'Orchard' really small. But when that's not feasible … suddenly it became this word salad. I didn't love that so much," she said.

Meghan then used the name she "protected" that "had sort of been under wraps."

Prince Harry's wife shared that she and her team put their "head down" in order to build a brand that "no one was sniffing around."

The mother-of-two said that the "quiet period" was really helpful after "spending so many years working on something, building it and the pivots that you had to take with it."

In February 2025, Meghan announced her new brand As Ever in a selfie-style video message.

She launched her first collection of products on April 2, and they sold out within an hour on her website.