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Martha Stewart and Meghan Markle are at very different stages of their lifestyle expert careers — Stewart is the OG, and the Duchess of Sussex is hoping to enter the space in 2025 with American Riviera Orchard. Yet the dynamic duo is already facing their stiffest competition from a streaming superstar.
Joanna Gaines, whose Fixer Upper show with husband Chip Gaines brought national attention in 2013, has become the top lifestyle guru to beat with her rising Magnolia Network on Discover+ and Max. “She and Chip have their Fixer Upper reboot, she’s got her glossy magazine, cooking show, shop, restaurant, coffeehouse and hotel,” an insider claimed to Closer Weekly. “Jo’s talking about expanding the business even further in 2025.” It’s hard to ignore the designer’s Hearth & Hand products because they are coveted home decor items these days.
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Joanna Gaines
Rob Kim/Getty Images.
While no one is going to touch Stewart’s legacy and her $400 million net worth, Meghan is hoping to make her mark, much like Gaines. Now, Netflix is hoping to make waves with the royal family member when her cooking show launches in 2025. Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos thinks that Meghan has the same star power as Gaines. “I’ve been out with a lot of famous people before – the way that people react to Meghan is otherworldly,” Sarandos told The Times in September.
While fans don’t know what the Duchess of Sussex’s vibe will be for her brand just yet, Montecito’s laid-back, but aspirational shoreline, is a very different feel from Gaines’ folksy Waco, Texas and Stewart’s New York edge. What it should tell fans is that there’s a space for all three women even though Stewart will always be the pioneer. As Stewart confidently told Bloomberg TV in 2013 when Gwyneth Paltrow entered the conversation with Goop, “I started this whole category of lifestyle.”
While the Closer Weekly insider believes that Gaines is “going to topple Martha’s success,” no one can touch Stewart’s legacy. “She was sort of like an original influencer, doing it as a business,” Claire Saffitz, a chef and cookbook author of What’s for Dessert told CNN in February. “So, for my generation, for millennials, that felt really normal.”
Don’t underestimate the power of Martha Stewart!
Before you go, click here to see Martha Stewart’s life and career in photos.
