The Illusion of Buying a Better Life: Why High-Priced Retreats Like Meghan Markle's Can't Deliver on Their Promises

What this retreat and similar lifestyle offerings exploit is the idea that with the right mindset (and the right access), these competing demands can somehow be optimised to create the “best life”. But that’s where the illusion falters. Even for women who can afford this exorbitant ticket price, the lifestyle being sold to them remains structurally out of reach. Workplaces, caregiving expectations and social norms haven’t evolved to support this level of total-life excellence. Nor is it even possible.

Retreats like this tend to promise three things: rest and relaxation, access to something exclusive and a high-priced shortcut to your dreams. It’s that last one that really sells. It’s why successful authors can charge thousands of dollars for writing workshops and retreats, capitalising on the idea that mere proximity to them and their insights might accelerate the publication of your first manuscript. At its extreme, it’d be like paying for a meet and greet with Taylor Swift, in the hopes that you’d get a record deal.

Implied ‘Shortcut’ to Your Dreams

This retreat at the InterContinental Coogee Beach may provide relaxation, but whether it can deliver on its promise of “access” or an implied “shortcut” to your dreams remains highly questionable.

The marketing of the event gives the illusion of access – heck, an “in-person conversation with Meghan Markle” makes it sound like she’s sharing the twin room with you. But therein lies the issue. Markle (and Henderson for that matter) live lives so far removed from the average Sydneysider that it would be impossible for even the most well-off professional women to penetrate.

The weekend promises a shortcut to transformation, the idea that just being within their orbit might unlock a better version of your own life. Unfortunately, the maxim that “you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” does not extend to parasocial relationships or paid events. Otherwise, I would be a combination of the four main Bluey characters (courtesy of my son) and Hailey Bieber.

A glimpse into Markle and Henderson’s world might be appealing, but it’s also largely unattainable unless you happen to land the most extraordinary deal in Australian media history or marry a real-life prince.

For busy women, retreats can be a sanctuary – so if you’re attending this event because you had a spare $2699 and wanted a weekend away with your friends close by to your mansion in the Eastern Suburbs … well then, go off, queen! However, if you’re drawn to the allure of these glossy individuals and this lifestyle … you’re better off watching Selling Sunset on Netflix.

Retreats such as “Her Best Life” capitalise on the gap between aspiration and reality. They employ therapy-adjacent Orwellian newspeak in the form of buzzwords such as “vulnerable”, “raw” and “messy”. But what kind of honesty or rawness can one really expect from this weekend? Will Jackie O speak about her current litigious chapter? Will Meghan air more dirty laundry about the royal family or cover scorched earth with Spotify? All signs point to no … which is a shame because that would be a sound healing experience.

So while money may give you a glimpse into this so-called “best” life, it cannot give you the escapist shortcut many women (including myself) crave. “Her Best Life” illustrates that professional women can buy the luxury weekend, but not the luxury life.