{"id":384058,"date":"2026-04-17T10:39:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/384058\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T10:39:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T10:39:07","slug":"a-3200-girls-weekend-like-no-other-where-you-got-to-meet-meghan-for-an-hour-in-this-economy-meghan-the-duchess-of-sussex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/384058\/","title":{"rendered":"A $3,200 \u2018girls\u2019 weekend like no other\u2019 where you got to meet Meghan for an hour? In this economy? | Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am standing across the street from a five-star hotel in Sydney\u2019s eastern suburbs wearing sunglasses and a large hat like a low-budget private detective.<\/p>\n

My noble aim is to spot Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, or at the very least scope out the exclusive women\u2019s wellness retreat<\/a> \u2013 shrouded in mystery \u2013 where she is slated to appear on the final day of her and Harry\u2019s whirlwind four-day trip down under<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have declined to comment on her appearance at the retreat, and no media are being allowed access to the room in the InterContinental where Meghan was scheduled to appear at 4.30pm on Friday.<\/p>\n

One Channel 7 employee\u2019s registration was even withdrawn<\/a> when organisers discovered she was a working journalist.<\/p>\n

At 1pm, when I arrive, it is just me and some security guards. Guests aren\u2019t expected to check in until 3. Then a TV crew arrives, and a couple of photographers. Since we can\u2019t go inside, we mill pointlessly on the sidewalk.<\/p>\n

By 4pm, it feels like every news outlet in the nation is stationed outside the InterContinental in Coogee. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts\/AAP<\/p>\n

As women start to get dropped off in fancy cars, wheeling designer suitcases and carrying neatly pressed gowns, a swarm of reporters attempt to interview someone who turns out to be the official yoga instructor.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s apt that the weekend retreat is run by a podcast called \u201cHer Best Life\u201d, because you\u2019d having to be living your best life, financially, to afford to shell out a few thousand dollars for a ticket.<\/p>\n

Tickets range from $2,699 to $3,199, depending if you\u2019re comfortable sharing a room with a stranger. Those willing to pay the VIP price receive their own room and nab a group table photo with the duchess.<\/p>\n

The podcast was founded by media executive Gemma O\u2019Neill and radio presenter Jackie \u201cO\u201d Henderson in 2024 as part of their company \u201cBesties Australia\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email<\/a><\/p>\n

Henderson arrives to a swarm of paparazzi just before 4.30pm, with O\u2019Neill to lead the event and an in-conversation with Meghan.<\/p>\n

Pitched as an exclusive \u201cgirls\u2019 weekend like no other\u201d, the retreat is being held at the InterContinental Hotel in Coogee Beach until Sunday; however, Meghan is only expected to appear for an hour or two between a boat ride on the Sydney Harbour and a rugby match at Allianz Stadium.<\/p>\n

Apart from getting up close and personal to Meghan, the guests, capped at a strict 300, will also be able to participate in sound healing, a meditation and \u201cmanifestation\u201d session, \u201cpool time\u201d, group therapy and a disco \u2013 alcohol included.<\/p>\n

By 3pm, a few dozen guests and a car full of sniffer dogs have made it inside but there\u2019s no sign of the duchess. A man drives past and yells \u201cHI MEGHAN\u201d out the window.<\/p>\n

I chat to a woman passing by who\u2019s just been for a swim. She says she knew Meghan would be in the area but \u201cwith everything going on in the world right now, she is not even in my orbit\u201d.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sentiment shared by Belinda, Jackie and Suzanne, who are visiting Sydney from Adelaide. Jackie thinks it\u2019s \u201cextraordinary\u201d to be holding an event like this while many Australians are struggling with the cost of living.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think they\u2019re commercialising everything, they\u2019re not really that genuine,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Belinda says they only realised today the couple would be in Sydney when her brother asked if she planned to go see them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I said, \u2018no, I\u2019m not\u2019,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a royalist,\u201d Suzanne adds.<\/p>\n

The retreat has been swirling with media controversy since Meghan was announced as a headliner in March. Ticket sales have been opaque \u2013 two weeks out, Her Best Life announced a \u201chandful of additional rooms\u201d had been released, and with just days to go, plugged there was \u201cFINAL LAST MINUTE AVAILABILITY!!\u201d due to \u201cmovement\u201d.<\/p>\n

A scathing article published to Radar Online<\/a> labelled the event a wellness retreat \u201cfrom hell\u201d before it had even taken place, somehow linking it to the \u201cpoo balls\u201d that have been washing up on Sydney\u2019s beaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cAttendees might be subject to an awful stench if they try to enjoy time on the beach,\u201d the article warned (poo balls have not been spotted in Sydney since January, at a beach located seven kilometres from Coogee).<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill\u2019s business dealings have also been dredged up, including the voluntary liquidation of her business, Gemmie Agency, in November for $546,000. Such has been the backlash that O\u2019Neill took to her podcast on 1 April condemning media coverage that had been \u201cpretty hurtful and in many parts inaccurate\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very much looking forward to interviewing Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,\u201d she said in a teary recording. \u201cI have been in awe of how she handles all of the public scrutiny she receives \u2026 so there\u2019s a lot that I want to ask her.\u201d<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot that the whole world wants to ask of Meghan.<\/p>\n

How much is she making from this commercial endeavour? Why is she appearing as a guest judge onMasterChef Australia? Why has she joined an AI fashion discovery platform? Why does she describe her company, As Ever \u2013 which sells flower sprinkles and leather bookmarks, among other things \u2013 as a \u201clove language\u201d more than a brand?<\/p>\n

Maybe a better question is, why the hell not?<\/p>\n

By 4pm, it feels like every news outlet in the nation is stationed outside the InterContinental. A BBC reporter moves a couple of wheelie bins down the street to get a better shot for his live cross.<\/p>\n

The consensus is that Meghan and Harry are already inside the hotel and have been since leaving Sydney Harbour. In a couple of hours, she will be whisked away to attend the rugby and may not even make it through the main course of the retreat\u2019s dinner.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, guests mill in the lobby in colourful ballgowns, taking selfies and waving at the press.<\/p>\n

Across the road, a woman stands on her balcony filming the bizarre affair on her phone. I ask her if she\u2019s a fan of Meghan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m British, so I quite like the royals,\u201d she replies. \u201cBut $3,000 for a selfie and a chat? That\u2019s insane.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am standing across the street from a five-star hotel in Sydney\u2019s eastern suburbs wearing sunglasses and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[430,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-384058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}