Meghan and Harry Reduce Workforce - Reportedly Caused by Financial Struggles - Meghan and Harry are letting go of their staff members due to dwindling funds.
After a series of public relations setbacks and media missteps throughout 2025, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have parted ways with key members of their communications team, including deputy press secretary Kyle Boulia and press officer Charlie Gipson, along with two additional staffers from Meghan's private team.
The reasons behind the Sussexes' decision to part ways with their communications team are causing speculation. The couple has been dissatisfied with their PR teams, blaming external staff rather than themselves for ongoing issues, resulting in repeated turnover despite hiring top industry professionals.
In terms of their current PR strategy, after these departures, the Sussexes have brought on Meredith Kendall Maines, a communications veteran from Hulu and Google, as their first chief communications officer. Maines has indicated a strategic shift away from having an in-house communications team toward a more traditional communications structure relying on specialist agency support to manage their growing business and philanthropic interests.
The expanded PR team works across five time zones, providing better access to international media and ensuring faster response times. The Sussexes have hired Life in Montecito for their PR work, a move industry insiders suggest is more cost-effective. However, the cost of the agency is not insignificant, with the Sussexes responsible for paying the mortgage and high maintenance costs for their luxury villa in Montecito, California.
The Sussexes' goal is to manage their business and philanthropic activities more efficiently with the new PR structure. This move comes as the couple aims to become financially independent after leaving the Royal Family. Netflix is reportedly planning to change its approach, moving from exclusive overall deals to a "First Look" deal, under which the streaming giant has the right to see the couple's ideas and projects first and give the green light before other streaming services are involved.
The cost-cutting measures could be a factor in the reduction of the Sussex team. The Sussexes have lost a total of 25 staff members since their withdrawal from the British royal household in 2020. Some separations of staff members have not been made public.
The rapid staff turnover of the Sussexes has been likened to the rate at which normal people go through toilet paper by a royal source. Despite this, the Sussexes' PR team has grown from a two-person team to an agency with eight employees, demonstrating their ongoing commitment to managing their public image effectively.
In light of the continuous PR challenges faced by Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, it seems they've expressed sentiments like, "I'm not going to be able to do this," in regards to managing their own PR team. The couple's switch to a more traditional PR structure, where they're relying on entertainment industry experts for support, indicates a move away from pop-culture missteps and celebrity mismanagement.
