Meghan Markles Australia Visit: Whats the Real Reason?

With 's Australian visit just around the corner, rumours are swirling about the real reason for the trip. 

Markle is set to be the headline guest at the inaugural Her Best Life Retreat, organised by the events company Besties, founded by former radio queen Jackie 'O' Henderson and her manager Gemma O'Neill.

However, some are claiming that the 'ultimate girls weekend' is secondary to the real reason for her Australia visit – drumming up business for Soho House.

Soho House is an exclusive, members-only social club that was founded in London in 1995. 

Catering to the creative elite, the upscale club provides swanky spaces for working, dining and socialising.

Its popularity has seen 48 Soho Houses pop up around the world with its first Australian location set to open in Sydney in 2026.

While there is no official opening date for the five-level venue in Darlinghurst, some internet commenters have raised eyebrows at the timing of Markle's visit.

One commenter took to Reddit to point out that aside from organising the retreat, O'Neill is also involved in the Soho House Sydney project.

'O'Neill isn't just some random podcast host fangirling over Harry's SoHo rental. She's on the Soho House Sydney advisory committee, which means this Girls Weekend retreat is Soho House business disguised as women's empowerment,' they wrote.

'Markus arranging it from Madame's house isn't friendship. This seems to be his job. He is the Soho House consultant, and he is coordinating promotion for their Sydney opening.'

Another added that while the Sydney venue was unlikely to be ready in time for Markle's visit, it was a perfect opportunity to promote the swanky venue.

'It doesn't look like it will be open when they are there. I think it's either that a part of it is ready (but that's not usually how they roll), or they are doing early recruiting and promoting to recover some cost,' another Redditor wrote.

A third suggested that the Her Best Life Retreat could be used as a 'recruitment' tool for Soho House.

'Do you think they'll try to recruit members from the women's retreat?' they asked, to which another replied: 'Yes, I think so. I commented above that Twerkle May have negotiated a commission for every new member from the retreat who may sign up.'