She was slammed by a Hollywood bigwig as ‘not a great audio talent’ after her Spotify series was canceled, so it’s no surprise to hear that Meghan Markle is considering stepping back into more familiar territory .
I can reveal that the Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle blog, The Tig – which she left in 2017 as she prepared to marry Prince Harry – is set to make a comeback this fall.
After applying for the blog’s trademark in November last year, The Tig has now received a so-called clearance notice document from the US Patent and Trademark Office, as no other company has challenged her brand.
All that remains is for Meghan, 42, to provide a statement of use, proving the blog is up and running, for the trademark to be fully registered.
Thanks to the six-month deadline to provide this document, Meghan will have to do everything by October or pay another six-month extension.
REVAMPED: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the Invictus Games at Zuiderpark in April 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands
Meghan pictured on her lifestyle blog website Tig on New Years Day in 2016
The Duchess of Sussex’s lifestyle blog, The Tig – which she left in 2017 as she was about to marry Prince Harry – is set to return this fall
She was slammed by a Hollywood bigwig as ‘not a big audio talent’ after her Spotify series was canceled, so it’s no surprise to hear that Meghan Markle (pictured) is planning to retire on a more familiar territory.
The request to relaunch the blog, which Meghan has marketed as a ‘hub for discerning palates’, was first filed in July 2021 by LA lawyer Marjorie Witter Norman, but hit a snag when Meghan did not sign the trademark application.
Documents show The Tig will include interior design, travel and – perhaps much to the royal family’s horror – “commentary in the area of personal relationships”.
Meghan created the site in 2014 while an actress in the legal drama Suits and named it after her favorite Italian wine, Tignanello. She closed the site in 2017.
United Talent Agency boss Jeremy Zimmer slammed Meghan in June, saying: “It turns out that Meghan Markle wasn’t a big audio talent, or necessarily any type of talent.”
Last week it was revealed that Netflix had paid £3million for the film rights to a romance novel called Meet Me At The Lake which Meghan and Prince Harry will produce.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have bought the rights to Carley Fortune’s romantic novel Meet Me At The Lake, which experts say could have cost them up to £3million.
The second novel by New York Times bestselling author Fortune is a romance about two long-lost lovers, Will and Fern, whose paths cross by chance a decade after they first met and sparks fly between them.
The book has just the right formula to bring in millions for Netflix, Adam Brannon, film expert and founder of Movie Metropolis, said last week.
And insiders claimed earlier this month that Prince Harry and Meghan’s Spotify deal ended early because there was too much ‘red tape’ and they had ‘not received any setup official from the field ” which had put them in check.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s lucrative Spotify project has been dramatically pulled after producing a 12-episode podcast and festive special over three years.
The couple have also reportedly failed to produce enough content to receive full payment for the £18million deal they signed after stepping down as senior royals.
But an Archetypes production source claimed Harry and Meghan had ‘lots of ideas and pitched them’ – although the project was delayed by huge amounts of red tape between the two parties and ‘things went wrong. evolved very slowly on both sides”.
It was reported that the source said last week: “They haven’t been given any official lay of the land to kick things off, so they were already on shaky ground before the ink even dried.”
Sources close to the Duchess also struggled to say she was looking to take her Archetypes series to another streaming platform.
Over its 12 episodes, Meghan’s podcast has featured an array of high-profile guests, including Mindy Kaling (pictured) – who was interviewed in person by the Duchess – and Mariah Carey
Another source close to the Sussexes said People magazine that they were held to a higher standard than others and had “a lot of things that are in different phases.”
They told the publication, “Very few other production companies are measured by what actually airs on the airwaves.”
They noted that royal life “was not a world they wanted for their family” and that their subsequent career choices reflected that.
Joe Quenqua, a senior media strategist, told the magazine the Archwell couple’s brand had suffered ‘serious growing pains’ while a royal insider said ‘there isn’t necessarily a five-year plan’ when Harry and Meghan left the UK for the US in early 2020.
Defending the royal couple’s podcast episode ideas follow claims in June that Harry suggested interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin about his ‘childhood traumas’.
During brainstorming sessions, he apparently came up with the idea of talking to former US President Donald Trump and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg about their formative years and how those experiences shaped them into the adults that they are today.
Spotify’s initial announcement in 2020 referred to both Harry and Meghan producing and hosting several “podcasts”.
But Meghan has only completed one, on social stereotypes around women in 2022, as well as a joint half-hour Christmas edition in 2020 featuring a group of famous friends and their son , Archie.
The couple also faced an attack from fellow Spotify podcaster and senior company executive Bill Simmons, who called them “scammers”.
While industry ‘sources’ have lambasted the Duchess for faking several interviews on her show.
Supposed insiders claimed Meghan had staff members during the show’s interview with her guests, before the audio of her voice was edited out in later episodes.
The podcast-focused outlet Podnews said ‘multiple sources’ claimed that ‘some interviews on the show were done by other staff, with questions (audio from Meghan’s 41) edited later”.
The site, however, did not highlight specific episodes where this might have applied.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix movie could be a huge hit for the platform, says expert
Carley Fortune’s second novel, Meet Me At The Lake, captivated the Sussexes
In a joint statement via email, Spotify and Archewell Audio, Meghan and Harry’s production company, said in June that they “have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we have created together”.
Sources close to the Duchess also struggled to say she was looking to take her Archetypes series to another streaming platform.
Following news that the Spotify deal had been called off, rumors swirled that the couple’s £80m Netflix deal, signed in 2020, could suffer a similar fate.
But the streaming platform has come out in favor of the pair, with a Netflix spokesperson saying, “The bond with Archewell Productions is one we deeply appreciate.” Our exciting journey with them is not ending anytime soon.
Questions remain over what happens next for the Duke and Duchess, but in June experts suggested Meghan could become one of the highest-paid influencers in the world, receiving £200,000 per post to endorse brands.
The Duchess did not respond to requests for comment.
