Meghan Markle was beaming with joy as she made her grand return to Instagram, welcoming the new year with a merry beachside moment.
But netizens rained on her parade, calling the video “cringeworthy.”
Some also noticed an apparent blunder that suggested the video was not “natural.”
The Duchess of Sussex made an official comeback on the popular social media platform years later with a post welcoming the brand new year.
Meghan Markle made a splashy return to Instagram with a video post marking the new year
The former Suits star was pictured wearing an all-white outfit as she ran along the beach. She then wrote “2025” in the sand before giggling and running out of the frame.
The video was posted under the @meghan handle, which now has a shining blue tick hovering next to her name. The handle has long been rumored to belong to the mother-of-two since it was created in 2022.
The new video, shared this week, marks the first post that went up on her official grid.
Social media users weren’t too kind and claimed the video was “rehearsed.”
The @meghan handle, long speculated to be hers, debuted its first grid post this week, now with an official blue tick
Several eagle-eyed viewers pointed out that the number “2025” had already been written elsewhere in the video, seemingly suggesting that the posted clip wasn’t the first take of the seaside spectacle.
“The fact that she has clearly made several attempts at this really does add to the cringe factor,” read one comment, while a second said, “Nothing they do is natural or spontaneous. All rehearsed multiple times.”
“Oh, the accidental getting in the way of the camera and giggling was SO rehearsed too!” a third comment said.
The former actress was seen frolicking on a beach, dressed in an all-white outfit and writing “2025” in the sand
“Poor girl. She tries too hard but unfortunately, is too late to recover her mess!” read one comment, while another wrote, “Cringe worthy – she is giggling and acting like a six year old. I wonder how many times they had to film it to get it like that. It is not cute.”
“I can’t imagine many middle aged women would want to be filmed running along the beach giggling like a child and writing 2025 in the sand,” said another. “I also wonder about the husband who’d hang around for the u…”
Others defended her, with one saying: “So much hate no need for it, it’s bullying.”
“Shame we really should try and be kind in 2025. She is not harming any of us, so why are people being so nasty, don’t point fingers when there could be 10 fingers pointing back at you !!!” wrote another.
The post sparked controversy, with critics labeling the video “cringeworthy” and “rehearsed”
Markle had a fan-following of about 3 million on Instagram with her own personal account and that of her lifestyle blog, known as The Tig. Her blog was shut down in the lead-up to her engagement to Prince Harry, and her social media handles were deleted a few months after their engagement.
Her passport and her freedom to open up her own mail were other things she had to give up when she became a senior member of the British royal family.
“It was a big adjustment—a huge adjustment to go from that kind of autonomy to a different life,” she told The Cut about the transition in a 2022 interview.
Meghan and Harry’s royal Instagram, @sussexroyal, went dormant after they decided to step back from senior royal roles in 2020
“There’s literally a structure by which if you want to release photos of your child, as a member of the family, you first have to give them to the Royal Rota,” she explained about the rules that the royal family members, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, are subject to when it comes to sharing photos with the public.
Initially, social media updates about Markle and Prince Harry were shared on the @KensingtonRoyal accounts—the same page that shared posts about Prince William and Kate Middleton. But eventually, Markle and Prince Harry started their own official account, @sussexroyal.
“Poor girl. She tries too hard but unfortunately, is too late to recover her mess!” read one comment on her video
The Sussexes stepped back from their senior royal roles in 2020, and their Instagram post announcing their decision remains on their @sussexroyal account.
“While you may not see us here, the work continues,” read the last message from the account. “Thank you to this community – for the support, the inspiration and the shared commitment to the good in the world. We look forward to reconnecting with you soon. You’ve been great!
“Until then, please take good care of yourselves, and of one another. Harry and Meghan.”
“She is such an embarrassment! She and her husband are abject failures,” said one harsh critic
