Meghan is back, and it's giving 2015
PLUS: TikTok's tall couple breakup and Generation Beta have arrived
If there’s one word that captures 2024’s vibe it is “mess”.
Last year started off unhinged then Brat summer dominated and it ended with a man accused of murder becoming the internet's boyfriend.
The celebrities that won 2024 were unapologetic like Chappell Roan, awkward like Amelia Dimoldenberg and embraced organic madness with their whole being like Timothée Chalamet. Those who tried to sell us anything that didn’t feel 100 per cent authentic were roundly rejected. I’m thinking of Katy Perry and J.Lo, and also Kate Middleton’s ill-fated attempt to stop speculation about her health.
So as 2025 begins and chaos continues to be IN, and highly polished very much OUT, the way Meghan Markle has returned to Instagram, after a five year hiatus, is totally confounding.
Not only did the playful video of her running barefoot on the beach in an all-white outfit - and later the slick trailer for her new Netflix show - feel like a throw back to 2015’s lifestyle influencing’s peak, the glossy, luxe aesthetic is in total opposition to what we know wins in culture right now.
The content feels just as dated, with Meghan seemingly picking up where she left off before she meet Prince Harry in 2016. Back then she ran an aspirational lifestyle blog called The Tig (named after her favourite red wine) and had her own Instagram with three million followers who lapped up pictures of Meghan’s dog, travels, food and the various yoga poses she could contort her body into. The same high-end lifestyle guru vibes are present on her new account and appears to be the singular focus of the new series, With Love, Meghan.
The promo sees her serving elaborate cakes, picking fresh produce from a garden, selecting flowers by the stem and harvesting honey. In a voiceover she says: “We are not in the pursuit of perfection, we are in the pursuit of joy.” But everything in the trailer, from the stunning country kitchen to the parade of deeply impractical pale-toned outfits she wears while cooking are nothing short of flawless. If what is shown in the sizzle reel isn’t perfection, I am not sure what is because this is giving tradwife.
Markle seems to have missed that uber rich lifestyle porn became so ubiquitous - and reviled - prior to 2020, that a wave of Schadenfreude-themed dramas became some of television’s biggest hits in the preceding years. The White Lotus, The Undoing, The Perfect Couple all relied on viewers contempt for the wealthy and their fancy lifestyles. At the same time Eat the Rich became a common refrain and wealth-flashing backlash commonplace.
Maybe understanding the dynamics of culture in 2025 doesn’t matter to Markle. After all Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to give her her full title, has racked up over eight million views across the two videos in little more than a day, and her new account already has over one million followers. But while attention is one thing, relevance is something else entirely.
The very tall couple who had a viral meet-cute have split up
It was just too good to be true
Back in June I told you about a very tall boy interviewing a very tall girl and how their instant chemistry blew up on TikTok. Soon after Tyler Bergantino and Gabby Gonzalez got together and millions watched their real-time romcom unfold online.
Sadly Tyler and Gabby’s very public love story has come to an end and they announced today that they were splitting after six months by separately posting statements on Instagram and TikTok.
They both wished each other well in the posts that have already been viewed more than nine million times on TikTok.
Generation Beta have arrived
On January 1 the first children of the Beta generation were born heralding the end of Generation Alpha.
Gen A have reigned since 2010 but the last ones were born on December 31 2024, making the eldest members 15.
The Betas will run until 2039 and many of them will live long enough to experience life in the 22nd century. The new cohort will most likely be born to Gen Z and younger millennial parents and will be the first generation to not know a world without AI or self-driving cars. Personally, I can’t wait til they discover Sephora.
This week I’ve been…
OBSESSED WITH
Ralph Fiennes reciting Jools Lebron’s “very demure, very mindful” viral video on CNN’s New Year’s Eve show
The best advert Papa Johns never made
The legendary songwriter Dennis Lambert hearing Chappell Roan for the first time
The four kid brothers who make up the band Trueblood and go viral with their covers. This version of Fein has been watched more then 18 million times…
Adrian Dittmann’s Elon Musk-loving Twitter/X account
READING
The Times’ report on the huge rise in young people in the UK off work because of a growing mental health crisis. In the last decade women aged 16 to 24 who were not working because they were long-term sick more than doubled from 52,000 to 117,600. Amongst young men the number rose from 78,500 to 141,100.
’s always insightful 2025 predictions’ brilliant post on staying in versus going out. It’s from August but just as relevant now as it was then’ fabulous annual deep dive into what Gen Z got for christmas according to gift haul videos on TikTok
The new Emerson College Polling national survey which found that 40 per cent of 18 to 29 year olds think the actions of the killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO are completely or somewhat acceptable
WATCHING:
Conclave… As good as they say. Also very much here for this meme.
Gavin & Stacey: The Finale. It was perfect.
highly flammable is produced and written by me, Rachel Richardson
I’m a content creator, commentator and consultant at Beginning, Middle and End
Want more? Check out Threads, Twitter/X and Instagram. I’m also dabbling in some Bluesky thinking.
Email rr@bmend.com
With Love, Meghan is a dated title. It sounds like a Wal Mart perfume.
“Those who tried to sell us anything (in 2024) that didn’t feel 100 per cent authentic were roundly rejected.” Oh if only that had applied to politicians too. I wouldn’t be filled with such dread for 2025. Per MM, I haven’t seen a single truly authentic moment from her yet, so this feels very on brand!