The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle‘s return to podcasting seems to be off to a rough start.

The former actress recently launched the first episode of her new show, “Confessions of a Female Founder,” where female entrepreneurs discuss the experiences they have gained while building multimillion-dollar startups from small ideas.

Unfortunately, unlike her previous show, “Archetypes,” Meghan’s new project has ranked poorly since its release.

After months of eager anticipation, Meghan Markle’s new podcast, “Confessions of a Female Founder,” finally premiered on April 8.

Given her past success in the podcasting world, expectations were high. But despite kicking things off with Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd as her first guest, the launch hasn’t made the splash many anticipated.

Since its debut, the podcast has struggled to reach the top spot on most streaming platforms, per the New York Post.

Currently, it sits at number 10 on Spotify’s general Top Podcasts chart in the U.S., a noticeable drop compared to the roaring success of the Duchess’s 2022 debut, “Archetypes.”

Back then, the duchess’ first podcast soared to number one shortly after release and quickly became Spotify’s most-listened-to podcast across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.

It remained well sought after by listeners all through its airing period and won The People’s Choice Award for “The Pop Podcast of 2022.”

Foreboding more doom for the newly released podcast is the fact that it has been critically panned by many media outlets.

The Times of London’s columnist James Marriott slammed the project as “Meghan’s vapid lessons in self-love” and claimed that he was “seized by an urge to beat my head against the wall” after he streamed the first episode.

Meanwhile, a writer for The Guardian noted that the podcast was “stomach-turning” and also described it as “sycophantic.”

They also mentioned that the episode was “simply an effusive chinwag between two like-minded pals that may as well have taken place behind a deluxe set of closed doors.”

Further slamming the new project was The Telegraph’s TV critic Chris Bennion. He claimed it was an “inane stream of mindless aphorisms” with “no confessions or secrets.”

He also noted that Meghan and her guest “speak a great amount of deliberately calculated nonsense” during the episode.

The negative criticism about the new podcast comes after the duchess’ Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan,” suffered the same fate upon its release.

It was hit with several negative reviews and did not do well compared to her and her husband, Prince Harry’s first Netflix project, “Harry & Meghan.”

At the time, reports also spread that the criticism following the show forced the Netflix boss to delay renewing her $100 million contract despite greenlighting a second season.

“It’s not a runaway success,” a source told the Daily Mail about the duchess’ show. “I know they filmed the shows back-to-back so in theory there is no second season; it’s like with lots of Netflix shows, it is already in the bag at the same time as the first one.”

They added, “What this does is allow edits to be made to the show from feedback from press and Netflix viewers. It’s clever and cost effective. So no the overall contract hasn’t been renewed yet.”

Having released her Netflix project and returned to the world of podcasting, Meghan has shown she is keen on expanding her business ventures.

Earlier this month, she officially launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever. The limited product line sold out online within an hour of being made available.

It featured numerous products, including a raspberry spread in a keepsake container, wildflower honey, teas, sprinkles, a crepe mix, and a shortbread cookie mix.

Meanwhile, the former actress previously revealed that she is an angel investor in the healthcare company Midi Health.

According to Express, the company provides virtual services to women aged 35 on perimenopause, menopause, and other health-related issues.

In an interview with People Magazine, Meghan opened up about the joy of building her As Ever venture with her children by her side.

She shared that one of the most meaningful moments was when the original landing page of the site featured a photo of her with Lilibet.

“Being able to have my own little girl, as I’ve spent so much of my life championing the rights of girls and women, and to be able to see this as a multi-generational story,” she shared. “Archie is of course included in that, my husband is of course included in that — but I love the heritage feeling of it and knowing this is something that I can create in front of my daughter and teach her what it’s like to be a working mom.”

“This is something that hopefully can be part of her legacy, too,” the Duchess added.