In a surprising twist, Meghan Markle has been labeled “the most disappointing celebrity of 2025” by the Toronto Star, her former hometown newspaper. The Duchess of Sussex, now 44, spent seven pivotal years in Toronto while starring in the acclaimed Netflix series, “Suits.” It was during this period that her romance with Prince Harry blossomed, as he often discreetly visited her in the Canadian city, captivated by their burgeoning relationship.

Meghan has frequently expressed her affection for Toronto, crediting the city with providing her a semblance of normalcy amid her rising fame. It was in Toronto that she and Prince Harry made their first public appearance together at the 2017 Invictus Games, an event created for wounded military personnel. More recently, in November, Harry acknowledged Toronto’s special role in their story, thanking the city for giving him “a wife” at the True Patriot Love Foundation National Tribute Dinner.

Despite these fond memories, the Toronto Star has recently criticized Meghan in a candid opinion piece by Patricia Treble, naming her the “most disappointing celebrity” of the year. Treble argues that while Meghan possesses all the potential to become a global icon, she has not met expectations since stepping away from royal duties five years ago. Although not branding her as a complete failure, Treble suggests that Meghan’s momentum has waned over the past year, leaving her star power “slowly deflated.”

She criticised the mother-of-two for having ‘no signs’ of an official renewal for her Netflix show, With Love Meghan, or a second season of her podcast. The local paper also took aim at the Sussexes’ new ‘multi-year, first look deal for film and television projects’ with Netflix – a downgrade on their previous contract. The arrangement, revealed this August, is a first-look deal, meaning Netflix can say yes or no to new film or TV projects before anyone else. And while Ms Treble acknowledged the Duchess has married well, and is still ‘famous’ and ‘rich’, she believes Meghan has to assess how ‘not to repeat’ mistakes.

Among them was an assessment of the Sussexes’ revolving door of publicists, with six key staff in the team cutting ties with them this year alone. ‘Meghan could be famous by being open and real,’ Patricia wrote in the Toronto Star. ‘It worked for the Kardashians, who got rich by working non-stop to sell themselves to a world eager to see their latest reinventions.’ If the Duchess did not want to reveal all, then she could go down a route of celebrity whose exclusivity boosts their popularity, the writer added, noting Princess Catherine of Wales as a prominent example.

‘Meghan wants everyone to know and acknowledge that she’s royal, without the obligations of working on behalf of the monarch, including all those endless engagements for worthy causes,’ Ms Treble added. In a final blow to the Sussexes, she also laid bare her views on Harry, who she says has ‘done little this year’ beyond the Invictus Games. The criticism of Meghan and Harry comes shortly after Harry and Meghan’s closest advisor, James Holt quit. 

Holt (pictured with Harry), who had been running the couple’s Archwell charity since 2021, was reported as their ‘rock’ through Megxit’. He had been their PR chief from 2019 to 2021, a turbulent period for the Sussexes, after they left the UK and stepped back as working Royals. His departure came just days after Meredith Maines announced she was leaving Team Sussex. Her tenure as Harry and Meghan’s PR guru is by no means the shortest, despite her lasting in her role as chief communications officer for less than a year.

Remarkably, Mr Holt is the sixth key publicity staff member to cut ties with the couple in 2025 alone. For some, their time working for Harry and Meghan does not even appear on their LinkedIn profiles, with insiders saying it is an ‘impossible, miserable’ job. Indeed, some former staff have dubbed themselves the ‘Sussex Survivors Club’. There was no mention of any difficulty in Mr Holt’s or Ms Maines’s statements when announcing their respective departures. Harry and Meghan’s representatives declined to comment.