RadarOnline.com can reveal Meghan Markle has been left “reeling” after being branded the “most disappointing celebrity of 2025” by her former hometown newspaper – a stinging verdict that cuts deepest because of her long and publicly affectionate ties to Toronto.

The Duchess of Sussex, 44, lived in the Canadian city for seven years while filming Suits, before beginning her relationship with Prince Harry, now 41, in the summer of 2016.

Patricia stopped short of calling the duchess an abject failure, but said her career had become slowly deflated over the past year.

She pointed to the absence of any confirmed renewal of Meghan’s Netflix lifestyle series With Love Meghan and the lack of a second season of her podcast.

The writer also criticized the Sussexes’ new “multi-year, first look deal” with Netflix, calling it a downgrade from their earlier agreement, as it gives the streamer only the option to accept or pass on projects.

“Meghan could be famous by being open and real,” Patricia wrote. “It worked for the Kardashians, who got rich by working non-stop to sell themselves to a world eager to see their latest reinventions.”

She added if Meghan preferred privacy, she could follow a different model, citing Princess Catherine of Wales, 43, whose scarcity has bolstered public fascination.

“Meghan wants everyone to know and acknowledge that she’s royal, without the obligations of working on behalf of the monarch, including all those endless engagements for worthy causes,” Patricia added.

In a further rebuke, she argued Harry had “done little this year” beyond his ongoing work with Invictus.

A source close to the Sussexes said the article had landed hard. They added: “This is the most painful review Meghan has had because it comes from a city that once gave her refuge and normality. It’s shaken her confidence.”

Another insider said: “Toronto mattered to Meghan. To be written off like this, by people who watched her rise, has really hurt and left her reeling with shock, and shame.”

The criticism arrives amid continued upheaval within the Sussexes’ inner circle. Their longtime adviser James Holt, who had run the Archewell Foundation since 2021, recently stepped down after being described as their “rock” through Megxit.

His exit followed the departure of Meredith Maines, who served less than a year as the pair’s chief communications officer.

Harry’s long-running security battle added further strain. In 2025, he lost his legal challenge against the U.K. Home Office to reinstate automatic police protection.

Under the current arrangement, security is assessed case by case, with 30 days’ notice required for U.K. visits. Harry has said he does not feel it is safe to bring his children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, to Britain without armed protection.

After the ruling, he told the BBC the dispute had caused his father, King Charles, 77, to stop speaking to him, describing the situation as an “establishment stitch up.”

Relations thawed slightly later in the year when Harry and Charles met privately for tea at Clarence House. But tensions with his brother, Prince William, 43, remain unresolved.

One communications expert said Harry’s Remembrance letter hinted at longing to come back to his homeland, saying: “Harry grew up in an environment where humor, teasing, and quick-fire banter were central to how he related to people, and that was especially true of his bond with his brother William. Their relationship was forged through constant back-and-forth, jokes, and shared language that came naturally from growing up side by side in the public eye.”

Harry misses the banter and the pub visits he enjoyed back in Britain and desperately wants to return home. He also raised eyebrows by announcing a Remembrance tour of Canada that clashed with William’s official visit to Brazil, prompting claims of a fresh royal war.

A royal expert said, “Taken together, these actions do not suggest someone who is genuinely motivated to rebuild bridges or engage constructively with his family. Instead, it comes across as impulsive and poorly judged, and, given the sensitivities involved, ultimately feels irresponsible.”

Commercially, Markle faced mixed fortunes. She relaunched herself online, unveiled the lifestyle brand As Ever, and released With Love, Meghan on Netflix.

Reviews were lukewarm at best, and the couple’s lucrative Netflix deal was replaced with a more limited first-look arrangement.

The year darkened further with a health crisis involving Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Sr., 81, who underwent a leg amputation.

Sources said the episode weighed heavily, compounding what one insider called a “steady, unrelenting build-up of pressure” coming at them “from all sides,” which left the couple “little room to breathe or recover before the next challenge arrived.”

One insider added: “It was the constant stream of scandal and family feuds that made 2025 the worst year of their married lives – and probably of Meghan’s entire life. Harry’s worst year was obviously the year in which his mother died, but 2025 was hardly kind to him either. As a couple, it’s fair to say the last 12 months have been among the worst of their lives.”