Freedom by George Michael boomed as Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, took the stage at the Her Best Life retreat gala dinner in Sydney on Friday afternoon.
Helped by husband Prince Harry, a surprise guest at the event who held her hand as she walked up, the duchess wore a cream two-piece from Australian label Scanlan Theodore for her conversation with the event’s organiser, Gemma O’Neill.
They spoke to a rapt audience of more than 200 women, some of whom had paid thousands to be in the room, at the Coogee Beach InterContinental hotel about Meghan’s career, family life and the trappings of fame – although questions about her former royal life seemed to be off the table.
It was the headline event of the three-day retreat, and the penultimate stop on Meghan and Harry’s Australian tour, which ended with their attendance at the Waratahs-Moana Pasifika rugby match that night.
Earlier on Friday attendees checked in to the hotel as media were kept at a distance, told not to approach guests.
Liliana Sanelli, 49, travelled from Melbourne to attend the retreat with her best friend. The entrepreneur and philanthropist said the Q&A between O’Neill and Meghan was “f—ing fantastic”.
“The majority of the women I spoke to last night were completely mesmerised by it,” she said. “She converted a room of people who came in going, ‘I’m not sure what to expect’.”
Sanelli said Meghan did not address royal life at all. “It was more about her [Netflix] series, books, what she’s doing, what’s coming up,” she said.
Marketing specialist and content creator Megan Towner, 39, travelled from the Gold Coast with her sister for the event. She said Meghan’s main message was about “how she wants to share positivity with the world”.
“She was saying, you know, if we don’t stand up for what’s right and we don’t sort of speak our truth, even if we’re not the ones putting the negativity out there, if we’re not actively stopping it or if we’re not speaking up for what’s right, then that’s not good, either.”
Sanelli said the entire room was captivated when Meghan spoke about her experience of online harassment.
“She shared that, every day, it’s been a lot for them,” she recalled.
“She said, ‘every day, as a woman, I get an article written about me in some form’, and she said some of the horrible trolling, the clickbait, has affected her,” Sanelli said, noting O’Neill said she also received online backlash for organising the event.
“It was just a moment in the room where everyone saw the pain of women trying to give it a go but how quick to pull someone down rather than support them. And it was a really touching moment because we all had tears.”
Meghan also opened up about her relationship with Harry (or “H”, as she calls him), who sat supportively by the stage. She spoke about how they made it a priority to have breakfast and often lunch together, and took turns doing school drop-offs.
Meghan, who received an appearance fee, was only at the event for two hours but that mattered not to the attendees. “There was no disappointment whatsoever,” Towner said.
Having purchased the $3199 VIP package, Sanelli and Towner were both able to take a group photo with Meghan.
Sanelli said she was “really engaging and kind”, learning the names of the group and shaking their hands.
Towner even shared a laugh with her. “We had a bit of a joke because obviously we’ve got the same name and I just said, well, mine’s the Aussie version,” she said.
Once Meghan and Harry left, the guests had a three-course, alternate-drop meal. Afterwards, a dance floor broke out.
The night’s DJ, Claire O’Shea, described the vibe as “super fun” with a “multigenerational” crowd.
“There were women in their 20s dancing with their mums,” she said.
The event was the start of the Her Best Life retreat, hosted by O’Neill, who has a podcast of the same name.
O’Neill was originally connected with Meghan through their mutual friend Markus Anderson, an executive at international private members’ club Soho House, who also attended the event.
Other high-profile guests included radio personalities Jackie “O” Henderson, the former co-host of the Her Best Life podcast, whose career O’Neill manages, and Carrie Bickmore.
It has been a tumultuous time for O’Neill. At the start of the month she announced she would be taking a break from the podcast after having a miscarriage. Around the same time it was revealed her business, Gemmie Agency, had gone into voluntary liquidation, owing $546,000.
“I stand by my integrity, I stand by my work and I stand by how I’ve conducted myself in business over a very long career,” O’Neill said in a podcast episode about the break.
But recent events seemed far from the minds of those in the Coogee ballroom on Friday.
“Gemma deserves credit,” Sanelli said. “Because it’s freaking hard to have the balls to do all of this and I admire people like that.”
Get the day’s breaking news, entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. Sign up to receive our Evening Edition newsletter.
