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Meghan Markle put on an ‘exaggerated’ show of friendship with the wife of Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos at a party in Montecito this weekend, a body language expert has claimed.
Rumours have swirled of a rift with Netflix after the Sussexes multi-million dollar deal with the streamer ended earlier this year, and Mr Sarandos unfollowed Meghan’s personal account and her lifestyle company As Ever on Instagram.
However, the Duchess, 44, was all smiles as she held hands with his wife Nicole Avant before wrapping her in a tight hug at the Beef Season Two Tastemaker event in California.
It was one of several awkward moments for the Duchess, 44, at the party where she wore an almost identical dress to the star of the event, Carey Mulligan, while the majority of the other guests stuck to a monochrome dress code.
‘Meghan’s exaggerated, displayed attachment rituals here look aimed at showing there is no “beef” between her and Netflix,’ body language expert Judi James said of her ‘prolonged’ hug with Nicole Avant.
The gesture appeared ‘especially penned in underlined, bold italics’ as Meghan ‘performs to showcase her “bestie” to the camera’.
Highlighting how Meghan’s torso is ‘facing inward close and her arms are wrapped around Nicole in an entwined and prolonged hug’ that ‘signals emotional dependency and intensity’ between lifelong friends, Ms James added.
She also noted Prince Harry and Meghan appear to be ‘photo-bombing’ Mr Sarandos and Nicole in group photos.
‘The way the Sarandoses continue their “couples” posing in the lineup makes it look almost as though Meghan is photo-bombing their pose,’ she said.
‘They adopt a tight, smiling, mirrored pose of couples’ unity, leaving Harry and Meghan to their side, but Meghan appears to want to share the affection, still having hold of Nicole’s hand here.’
Ms James pointed out Meghan’s ‘umbilical hand clasp’ with Nicole, as she added the ‘tight grip’ appears to suggest the Duchess is seeking ‘further support and encouragement from Nicole’.
‘As a gesture, it could give the impression of someone needily seeking extra support with camera-shyness, although that could hardly be the case for Meghan,’ Ms James said.
On Saturday night, Meghan and Prince Harry joined several A-listers, including Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, Riverdale star Charles Melton and British actress Carey Mulligan, at the Montecito launch party for season two of Netflix hit Beef.
Melton and Mulligan both star in the popular drama that returns to screens on April 16.
After photos from the event were shared online, some fans questioned whether Meghan had ‘disregarded’ the event’s dress code when they noticed she was one of two guests wearing green amid a sea of black and white outfits.
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Meghan posed up a storm in a chartreuse silk dress from Heidi Merrick that was very similar to Mulligan’s green gown.
The apparent ‘faux pas’ was criticised online, as X/Twitter users noted Meghan typically wears neutrals and questioned why she had opted for the olive green ensemble on this occasion.
One person wrote: ‘I’d believe it was a mistake if it wasn’t THAT colour. That’s not a normal colour, and she never wears colour either, but the time she chooses to it just happens to be this really unique colour, the star of the party chooses?’
Another said: ‘This could be one of Markle’s biggest faux pas to date (and there have been very many).’
A third said Meghan’s green dress was the reason she wasn’t in any of the group photos from the event.
Meghan and Harry’s appearance at the event came after Mr Sarandos quietly unfollowed the Duchess and her lifestyle company As Ever on Instagram – around the same time her brand was purged by the streamer, the Daily Mail revealed last month.
Netflix’s boss was one of the first big names to follow Meghan when she returned to social media at the start of 2025.
In March last year, her lifestyle business’s Instagram account launched, first as American Riviera Orchard and then as Ever, which Sarandos added to his list of around 450 accounts he follows.
But he unfollowed both Meghan and As Ever around February time – as did his creative chief, Bela Bajaria.
Both have been extremely positive about Meghan previously, with Sarandos calling her ‘the rock star’ as recently as last spring.
Mr Sarandos’ wife Nicole does still follow Meghan on Instagram – but not As Ever. A Netflix source previously told the Daily Mail: ‘Nicole and Meghan are still friends.’
Mr Sarandos has been co-CEO of Netflix since 2020, after being promoted from Chief Content Officer. He has been with Netflix since March 2000.
