Mindy Kaling is singing her friend Meghan Markle’s praises, confirming that the Duchess of Sussex is “down-to-earth” despite any misconceptions that may have pegged her as being “fussy.”
The Office star, 45, made the comments about Markle in a new interview with Time magazine, ahead of her cameo in episode two of the Duchess’ new Netflix reality series With Love, Meghan.
Premiering on March 4, the show invites viewers to Markle’s California estate, where she will be joined in the kitchen and garden by famous guests and chefs to impart personal tips and tricks.
“I think a misconception about Meghan is that she’s in any way fussy or has expectations of fanciness,” Kaling said. “She really is a down-to-earth person who knows a lot of fun tricks to make entertaining and cooking easier.”
The Never Have I Ever creator, who quietly welcomed her third child via surrogate last February, added that she learned a lot from Markle about how to host a children’s party.
“I love cooking, but I’m really not good at entertaining,” Kaling said. “I don’t know anything about how you’re not supposed to use overhead lighting when people come over. You're supposed to use little lamps. But Meghan just knows how to do that stuff.”
She continued: “For kids’ parties, I usually just go to the party supply store and get paper things, which I don’t judge and neither does she. But it was fun to learn simple ways to do a homemade kids’ party.”
Revealing how her cameo came to be, Kaling shared: “I was on maternity leave with my daughter in March and April, and Meghan texted me that she was doing a show where she was going to cook for her friends.
“Would I want to come to Montecito and have her cook for me? I wanted to get taken care of in that moment of my life. That was a fun maternity leave field trip,” she said. “I left with a basket of fresh produce and homemade jam and hot sauce because she knew I loved hot sauce. She’s a very generous woman who knew I needed a break.”
Weeks before the show’s premiere — which was delayed due to the devastating California wildfires — Markle unveiled the new name of her American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand.
Renamed to As Ever, the rebrand came after the company had run into difficulties with trademarking.
“I’m shocked we’ve kept this a secret for so long. In two weeks my show is coming out, which I’m so excited for. And also my business, which I think there has been a lot of curiosity about,” Markle said in an Instagram video.
“Last year, I had thought, ‘American Riviera, that sounds like such a great name.’ It’s my neighborhood; it’s a nickname for Santa Barbara, but it limited me to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area,” she explained. “As Ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening — this is what I do.”
