Inside how Daytime Emmy nominations really work—and why Meghan’s Netflix lifestyle series earned a spot despite the trolls and tabloid spin.
ByBernadette Giacomazzo
July 21, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Meghan Markle did not and could not buy her Daytime Emmy nomination for With Love, Meghan; the show paid a standard not-for-profit entry fee, and the nomination was decided by NATAS peer panels, just like every other contender.
- The Netflix lifestyle series, which features Markle sharing cooking, gardening, and entertaining ideas with guests such as Mindy Kaling, Chrissy Teigen, Tan France, Prince Harry, and Doria Ragland, marks her first personal Emmy nod after a past submission for Suits.
- Online backlash—largely from self-described “Kate’s Rangers,” who deride Markle’s fans as “sugars” and accuse journalists of being on her payroll—has not altered the basic fact that With Love, Meghan followed the same Emmy process as every other program in its category.
Meghan Markle did not buy her Daytime Emmy nomination. She could not have—even if she wanted to.
After With Love, Meghan earned a nomination for Outstanding Lifestyle Program, anti-Meghan social media accounts quickly claimed the Duchess of Sussex had paid her way onto the ballot. British tabloids, including Hello! and The Daily Express, amplified the broader backlash with headlines linking Prince William to Emmy nominations he did not personally receive, while questioning the legitimacy of Markle’s recognition.
That is not how the Daytime Emmys work—or any other Emmys, for that matter. According to the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS), the governing body that determines the Emmy awards, eligible programs must pay an entry fee to be submitted for consideration, just as productions pay submission fees for other major awards, including the BAFTAs.
That fee, however, only covers the administrative cost of entering—and it is given to a not-for-profit organization. The fee neither guarantees nor purchases a nomination.
Once the submission fee is paid, entries are evaluated by peer panels and judging committees operating under rules established by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Industry professionals review and score the submitted work, while screening committees enforce eligibility and competition standards. Nominees and winners may later purchase commemorative plaques or additional statuettes, but the nomination itself cannot be bought.
Markle celebrated the recognition by crediting the people who helped build the Netflix series.
“A huge congratulations to the amazing crew, producers, and team who worked on With Love, Meghan on Netflix,” she wrote on Instagram. “We are nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Series!”
The eight-episode series debuted in March 2025, followed by a second season in August and a holiday special in December. Across the show, Markle shared cooking, gardening and entertaining ideas with guests including Mindy Kaling, Chrissy Teigen and Tan France. Prince Harry and Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, also appeared.
The nomination is Markle’s first personal Emmy nod. While her 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview with Prince Harry earned a Daytime Emmy nomination, the recognition went to the CBS special rather than Markle individually.
During her acting career, Suits also submitted her for Emmy consideration, but she did not make the final ballot.
The renewed backlash has largely come from accounts that call themselves “Kate’s Rangers,” a label used by some supporters of Kate Middleton. Critics have nicknamed the group “derangers” because of its intense and often conspiratorial fixation on Markle.
The same accounts routinely refer to Markle’s supporters as “sugars,” a term many observers view as carrying misogynistic and racially coded undertones when directed at the biracial duchess and her predominantly Black female fan base.
They have also accused journalists of being paid by Markle or her professional team to publish factual corrections about her.
For the record: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Archewell, Netflix and their representatives did not pay for, commission or influence this article.
And no amount of online outrage changes the basic fact: With Love, Meghan was submitted, judged and nominated through the same awards process as every other program in its category.
