By Molly Claire Goddard
7:58am PST, Nov 12, 2025
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Renae Smith, a branding and PR expert, thinks Meghan Markle should be as genuine as possible while playing herself in the upcoming Amazon Prime comedy
Close Personal Friends. "Will she double down on that overly polished, 'perfect housewife' image we saw in the Netflix series [
With Love, Meghan]? Or the weird podcast version?" she questioned in an interview with
Daily Express. "Because those versions of her have become a bit of a cultural punchline."
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Meghan Markle shocked the world with the announcement she'd be returning to acting after leaving it behind to marry
Prince Harry. "What makes it risky is the tone. Will she lean into self-awareness and play an exaggerated, cheeky version of herself?" Renae Smith asked. "That could actually work, to a degree, as people love it when celebrities show they can take a joke."
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If Meghan Markle decides to go with a more "elevated" and "polished" version of herself, she could lose her audience. "It'll only confirm what critics already think. That she's not relatable and doesn't get the public mood," Renae Smith said.
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Meghan Markle will be starring alongside A-listers Lily Collins, Brie Larson and Jack Quaid in the flick centered around two couples who meet in Santa Barbara, Calif., and become close pals. The Duchess of Sussex was photographed arriving on set at Amazon MGM Studios in Pasadena.
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This isn't the first time Meghan Markle's authenticity has been called into question, as royal journalist
Mieka Smiles previously touched upon it. "A lot of her terrible press is brought on by her total inability to tell the truth about who she is. Because here in Britain we value truth-tellers … which is why Meghan's shtick has worn out so quickly," the
Daily Express columnist wrote.
