It is a well trodden reality that two women cannot share the same interest without being pitted against each other – at least not women in the public eye. Gwyneth Paltrow, actress, wellness guru and founder of Goop, and Meghan Markle, Duchess-cum-philanthropist-cum lifestyle influencer, are the latest victims of comparison.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Paltrow was asked about her Montecito neighbour's new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, which is 'Goop-adjacent'. The series is about the art of hosting and sees Meghan offer her tips on fruit preserves, one pan spaghetti dishes, gardening and baking for friends and family.
Unsurprisingly, given that the Duchess has been tabloid and social media fodder for the best part of a decade, the reception to the series has been mixed. Many people have jumped to her defence arguing that the show does exactly what it says on the tin and any further criticism is unjustified, while others have accused her of being 'boring', 'tone deaf' and of copying existing lifestyle gurus like Gwyneth or Pamela Anderson, who has her own show called Pamela's Cooking With Love.
Whenever 'there’s noise about certain women in the culture, I do have, always, a strong instinct to stand up for them', the Goop founder explained. 'I was raised to see other women as friends, not foes. I think there’s always more than enough to go around. Everybody deserves an attempt at everything that they want to try.'
She also admitted that, despite living down the road from one another, she doesn't 'know Meghan and Harry' well enough to comment any more than that. Adding, 'I mean, I’ve met Meghan, who seems really lovely, but I don’t know her at all. Maybe I’ll try to get through their security detail and bring them a pie.'
It's a perfect response to the easy but ever so barbed suggestion that she might be 'threatened' by Meghan's foray into the world of health and wellness. Instead, Gwyneth emphasised that she welcomes all women into the 'proverbial lifestyle space', crediting her mother Blythe Danner for teaching her that 'another woman is never your competition'.
We could all benefit from listening to Blythe's sage words of advice a little more often. As for Meghan's pies, jams and one pan pastas, there will be plenty more where they came from. With Love, Meghan has been renewed by the streaming platform for a second season. In fact, it's already been filmed and should arrive on Netflix this autumn. Who knows? Perhaps Gwyneth has just earned herself an invitation to guest star...
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).