The 9 January marks five years since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from royal duties to embark on a new life in the glamorous hills of Los Angeles, subsequently retiring their joint @sussexroyal handle on Instagram. Neither had posted anything publicly since March 2020 but now the social media hiatus has come to an end and with it comes a new era for Meghan Markle.

This time Meghan’s flying solo, with her handle on Instagram the very simple but very Hollywood @meghan – a secret sign of her star power given that single name usernames are gold dust in the celebrity world (some even pay big bucks for them). Sharing a short black and white video, filmed by Prince Harry, of her frolicking barefoot on the beach and writing ‘2025’ in the sand, the new account amassed nearly 1million followers in less than 24 hours of the video being posted.

Her second post was even more major – announcing her new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, which follows the Duchess cooking, gardening and crafting with an array of celebrity friends including actors Mindy Kaling and Abigail Spencer, as well as renowned chefs Roy Choi and Alice Waters.

Coming to Netflix on 15 January, the 30-minute episodes promise an intimate view into Meghan’s Montecito life – although the show wasn’t filmed at home. According to reports, production took place in a luxury eight-acre estate just two miles from Harry and Meghan’s own abode. Harry does make a cameo, spotted in the trailer cosying up to his wife.

‘I’ve always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it,’ Meghan says in the trailer. ‘Surprising people with moments that let them know I was really thinking of them… I’m going to share some little tips and tricks and how you can incorporate these practices every day. This is about connecting with friends, making new friends and just learning. We’re not in the pursuit of perfection; we’re in the pursuit of joy.’

Unsurprisingly given their fraught history with social media trolls and unforgiving tabloids, critics of the show are already aplenty online – before one episode has even aired. But Meghan herself is optimistic. ‘I have been so excited to share this,’ she told followers on her new account. ‘I hope you love the show as much as I loved making it.’

The Sussexes relationship with social media has been difficult, with the couple previously saying they faced an ‘almost unsurvivable’ amount of abuse online. In an interview Meghan commented, ‘I’m told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female.’ In 2023, they urged social media platforms to strengthen their moderation policies to protect young people’s mental health. The comments on Meghan’s new account are unsurprisingly, disabled.

That said, Meghan did once rule the lifestyle blogger landscape. Remember her website The Tig? It boasted 70,000 subscribers before it was shuttered following her engagement to Harry. And given Gwyneth Paltrow’s rocky success with GOOP, there’s certainly room for competition for a new Queen of wellness. This year will also see the long-awaited unveiling of Meghan’s lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, which has been delayed until now due to trademark issues. Of course, the new Instagram account is also a shrewd business move and could prove lucrative, with some social media experts claiming she could earn up to £800k for a sponsored post.

A spokesperson for the Sussexes says that Meghan hopes that with her new account she can ‘lead by example to show the positive impact that social media can create’, highlighting that she has had ‘constructive conversations’ with senior executives at Meta about ‘creating safer and healthier online environments’.

They added, ‘While there is still work to be done, she feels confident that by returning to Instagram she can amplify the progress made so far and lead by example in demonstrating the potential for social media to bring joy and positive connection.’

Since their royal exit, the Sussexes have experimented with various projects in their bid for financial independence, from podcasts to polo documentaries, with varying degrees of success. Meghan’s latest moves then signal a determination to forge on regardless of her critics. It seems that she is starting 2025 as she means to go on – carving out her own path on her own terms – and tuning out the comments.