Meghan Markle Suffers Another Blow: Taylor Swift's Bombshell Engagement Upstages Royal's 'Disappointing' Netflix Return in 'Karmic Payback'
Taylor Swift's engagement announcement completely overshadowed Meghan Markle's new Netflix episodes.
Aug. 26 2025, Published 6:45 p.m. ET
Taylor Swift's huge engagement news inadvertently stole the thunder from Meghan Markle's Netflix lifestyle series' Season 2 premiere, and royal fans are mocking the Duchess of Sussex, 44, by calling it "karmic payback," RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Eight new episodes of With Love, Meghan dropped on Tuesday, August 26, mere hours before Swift, 35, broke the internet by revealing that she and Travis Kelce are engaged following a two-year romance.
It became such a significant pop culture moment that even President Donald Trump was asked by reporters for a reaction, while Markle's project quickly fell into obscurity.
Markle Get Viciously Trolled
Markle was trolled hard by royal fans after Swift's engagement news became the hot topic of the day.
"Thank you, Taylor Swift, for announcing your engagement and killing any interest in As Ever and Netflix from Meghan Markle. KARMA B----," one royal fan cheered on X, while wondering how "pissed off" the former royal must be.
Another person speculated how Prince Harry's estranged family might be snickering at the timing, writing: "Taylor Swift is engaged, the Royals are toasting and laughing since it knocked Meghan off any news feeds!"
"Guess who just blasted Harry’s wife off the media cycle! Taylor Swift just got engaged to Travis today. Plates will be smashed in Montecito tonight. Well played, Taylor!" a third royal fan raved with a reference to the posh California town Markle and husband Harry call home.
"Thank God that someone did to her what she does to the royals. Karma is just warming up. I want a front row seat for it," a fourth fan excitedly wrote, referring to Markle and Harry's penchant for trying to take over the news cycle whenever Prince William, Kate Middleton, and King Charles III make a significant announcement or celebrate a special occasion.
Is Taylor Team Wales?
Swift and Kelce had a fun meeting with Prince William and his kids amid her London Eras tour stop.
One royal sleuth speculated that "Taylor and Travis are Team Wales," and that might not be too far-fetched.
The Prince and Princess of Wales "liked" Swift and Kelce's Instagram post announcing their engagement, despite being on their summer break in Scotland.
The American power couple met up with William and his incredibly excited children, Prince George, 12, and Princess Charlotte, 10, backstage when the pop superstar performed at London's Wembley Stadium on June 21, 2024.
Swift shared the photo on her Instagram page, noting it was also William's 42nd birthday. She wrote in the caption: "Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start."
The Grammy winner and her new fiancé posed for sweet photos with the two future kings and the adorable princess, and the duo raved about the experience when the Red songstress appeared on Kelce's New Heights podcast on August 12.
She Needs a Win
Markle's exclusive Netflix contract has been reduced to a first-look deal.
Markle desperately needs the second season of With Love, Meghan to be a success. The first season, which aired in March, finished in a dismal 383rd place among Netflix's most-viewed shows in the first half of 2025. There are currently no plans for a third season of the show, although Markle has a With Love, Meghan holiday special in the works for December.
After that, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will only work with the streamer on a first-look basis, as opposed to their exclusive partnership, which has come to an end.
Her series is also a launch pad for the Duchess' As Ever product line, which she created in a partnership with the streamer. Markle is using her shortbread and other products on the show in hopes of goosing sales.
After launching the brand in the spring, Markle crowed about how her items quickly sold out, only to be accused of not having enough stock to make the sales tallies seem impressive.
Since then, the former Suits star made sure to have plenty of her 2024 As ever rosé on hand for purchase, only to have the wine's demand plummet due to the high price and poor reviews for her first attempt with the 2023 version.
'Inauthentic' Royal Life
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Markle has made it clear she hated life as a working member of the British royal family.
Markle made sure to take a brutal stab at her former life as a royal on the same day her new Netflix episodes became available for viewing.
In a segment with Bloomberg's The Circuit, Markle complained about her "inauthentic" life as a royal, where "I couldn't be as vocal."
"I had to wear nude pantyhose all the time… that was not very myself," she huffed.
"That felt a little bit inauthentic, but that's a silly example. But that's an example of when you're able to dress the way you want to dress, you're able to say the things that are true and you're able to show up in a space really organically and authentically, that's being comfortable in your own skin," Markle elaborated before declaring, "Right now, I don't feel I need to prove anything."
