Royal Connection: Meghan Markle and Southern Charm's Craig Conover Enter the Lifestyle Empire - Craig's Candid Comments on Meghan Revealed - lulu

Martha Stewart is inarguably a trailblazer in building a lifestyle empire, and it makes perfect sense for celebrities to follow suit. Why's that? Because people like Martha capitalize on existing day-to-day and assume millions want to live like them. From Kristin Cavallari to Gwyneth Paltrow, so many starlets have co-opted their day-to-day, unattainable lives and aim to be cultural and domestic tastemakers. Star of With Love, Meghan and Royal family member (maybe), Meghan Markle, and reality star Craig Conover of Southern Charm are some of the most recent celebs making their foray into the lifestyle empire, and, of course, Craig had a lot of opinions on Meghan in his recent appearance on The Toast.

What Is Craig Conover Saying About Meghan Markle?

When asked about his thoughts on Meghan on the podcast The Toast, Craig was initially hesitant to get honest about Meghan. "I operate in a way that even though we are so far apart, one day I might be in the same room as Meghan, and the last thing I want is to, like, burn a bridge with her for no reason," Craig said. "Burning bridges with people is not the way to the top." Of course, Craig, being Craig, immediately walked back on that by comparing her to her character on Suits, whom he found repellant. "Meghan Markle, for me, unfortunately, her character on Suits started to drive me nuts during the later seasons," he lamented. "I know that she's not Rachel, but man, sometimes she does things that are Rachel-esque, and it pisses me off. I'm like, 'Sometimes you're not that far away from Rachel, Meghan.'"

Craig didn't get specific about what exactly is "Rachel-esque" about Meghan. However, he did mention that he and Meghan are both cultivating lifestyle brands and "racing to be the next Martha Stewart." This is a pretty bold thing to say, and Craig is well-known for being...bold. Meghan has been nurturing her love for aesthetics and hosting since she started her lifestyle blog, The Tig, in 2014. Since then, Meghan has become a seasoned hostess while rubbing elbows with the upper echelons of society as a duchess, actress, and entrepreneur. Craig, on the other hand, became hyper-fixated on sewing while avoiding a career in law and started a pillow company to piss off his ex-girlfriend, Naomie Olindo, who resented his hobby. It's interesting how Craig says that burning bridges precludes you from success after he literally started his business just to anger his ex and then gets press by shading Meghan. With the target demographic of the lifestyle industry being mostly women, you would think he would speak more highly of women, but hey, his business endeavors did earn him a trip to Donald Trump's White House.

The Difference Between Craig Conover and Meghan Markle

While Meghan receives a lot of flack for simply existing, her products are well-received and consistently sell out to the point where her company, As Ever, has overpromised and underdelivered on orders. There have been reports of customers getting emails to say the highly anticipated apricot spread is already sold out, despite having allowed them to submit an order, but were promised free products once they were restocked. Is that annoying, or as Craig would say, "Rachel-esque?" Yeah, but it's fantastic customer service.

Craig's reviews, on the other hand, are not nearly so positive. The Sewing Down South store on King Street is mostly a shrine to his reality television career. While Craig has already expanded his growing empire, it doesn't feel as intentionally crafted as Meghan's. Meghan's lifestyle enterprise seems to be purely from the heart and a passion project, while Craig's is more of a punchline on Southern Charm during a low point in his life that happened to work out selling clearance section sham pillows from Home Goods. He's coasting on an adorable schtick, and even his own friends have been vocal about how contrived it all is.

Meghan and Craig have fielded similar allegations of being both cringe and controversial, but the similarities end there. Craig went from a sham law career to sham pillows, and his target demo is Bravo fans who will white knight for him in ex-girlfriend Paige Desorbo's comment section. Meghan, as annoying as she can be, has a demonstrated passion for hosting and making memories. People criticized her for putting sprinkle flowers on everything and got weirdly pissed off that the snacks she gave her guests weren't made from scratch, but she's undeniably a meticulous and sincere lifestyle guru. While Craig certainly has a rich interior life, it doesn't make him an interior design expert on the same level as Martha Stewart. Meghan has edged Craig out in almost every facet of the Martha Stewart criteria, except possibly co-hosting a show with Snoop Dogg.