Gwyneth Paltrow has been saying nice things about her fellow lifestyle brand peer Meghan Markle, who’s thrilled to be on the receiving end of some positivity for a change – and she’s hoping it could even lead to a friendship with the actress, a source exclusively spills to In Touch.
The mother of two, 43, recently rebranded American Riviera Orchard to As Ever in February after running into trademark issues with the logo, and a few weeks later, her lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, premiered on Netflix on March 4.
While Gwyneth, 52, admitted she hadn’t seen the trailer for the series, she expressed her approval for Meghan, telling Vanity Fair, “Everybody deserves an attempt at everything that they want to try.”
Meghan has since been “over the moon” about Gwyneth’s cordial comment, according to the source – especially considering both the critics’ and audience ratings for the show, in which she shared an array of cooking, hosting and gardening tips from a lavish California estate, were very low.
“They couldn’t have come at a better time,” the source reveals. “She’s been facing a mountain of negativity and a lot of ridicule, so to hear someone she admires so much praise and defend her has lifted her spirits so much.”
Meghan is even interested in finding a way to “get in touch” with the Glee actress personally, the source says.
“She’s doing her podcast about female founders so it’s pretty conceivable she’d invite her on the show at some point,” adds the source, referring to her “Confessions of a Female Founder” project. “But even if she isn’t up for that, Meghan’s hoping that Gwyneth will accept an invite for a little get together.”
“Gwyneth knows everyone, getting her seal of approval would be priceless as far as connections go,” the source continues. “No doubt Meghan would love to collaborate with her on something, but the first order of business will be getting to know her, she’s thrilled that this is now on the table.”
Aside from openly voicing her support for Meghan’s latest career venture in lifestyle content, Gwyneth teased in the April 2025 issue of Vanity Fair that she may be interested in getting to know Prince Harry and the Suits alum, seeing as they both live nearby her own home in Montecito, California.
“I mean, I’ve met Meghan, who seems really lovely, but I don’t know her at all,” she said at the time. “Maybe I’ll try to get through their security detail and bring them a pie.”
Appearing to hint at the backlash Meghan has received in the past, Gwyneth noted that when “there’s noise about certain women in the culture, I do have, always, a strong instinct to stand up for them.”
It’s a lesson she learned from her mother, actress Blythe Danner, who once told her, “Another woman is never your competition.”
“I was raised to see other women as friends, not foes,” the Goop founder continued. “I think there’s always more than enough to go around.”
