Meghan Markle Shares a Rare Glimpse Inside Her Picturesque Backyard at $14.65 Million Montecito Home

Meghan Markle took full advantage of the warm California weather over the weekend by venturing out into the beautiful grounds of her $14.65 million Montecito, CA, mansion—while offering a peek into the lush gardens on her Instagram account.

In a series of videos and images, the 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex, who has been living in Montecito since 2020, took her followers on a tour of the gardens, even sharing a brief video of one of her children helping her to water the flower beds.

Beginning the series with a video of several blossoming trees, Markle captioned the clip: “A small break from work to soak in the weekend,” adding a sunshine emoji.

From there, the mother of two captured various different areas of the yard, including a lily pond-covered pond, a wide-open grass patch over which her dog, Momma Mia, was happily running, and the “first blooms and blossoms” that have begun to spring up throughout the yard.

Taking a break to water some of the beds, Markle—who shares two children with husband, Prince Harry—then passed the hose to one of the kids, although she made sure to keep their face out of the frame.

She did, however, pan the camera to her own face at one point, capturing herself beaming with joy as she strolled through the yard while sporting a purple Northwestern sweatshirt in honor of her alma mater.

Some suggested that Markle may have also been paying homage to her husband’s late mother, Princess Diana, by sporting the shirt—which looked near-identical to one that the royal was seen modeling regularly during trips to the gym before her tragic death in 1997.

The final clips in the series showed the former “Suits” actress taking full advantage of all her home’s grounds have to offer by picking a fresh orange off a tree, then squeezing it into a cocktail—which she looked set to enjoy on her back patio.

Markle has been very open about how significant the backyard of the home has been to both her and Harry—even revealing in 2022 that the grounds played a major role in their decision to purchase the home in the first place.

“One of the first things my husband saw when we walked around the house was those two palm trees,” she shared during an interview with The Cut. “We did everything we could to get this house.”

The yard also features prominently in the first brand imagery for her newly renamed company, As Ever, which began its life with the name American Riviera Orchard, before undergoing a major overhaul.

After announcing the name change in a video that was filmed in the very same yard, Markle unveiled the new website for her brand—which launched with just one photo: a snap of the Duchess running across the grass outside their home with her 3-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet.

Since relaunching her Instagram account on Jan. 1, Markle has shared several images and videos that were taken in and around her Montecito mansion, which she and Harry purchased back in 2020 after relocating from the U.K. to California.

Although the duo initially made every attempt to keep their home closely guarded from public view, Markle’s return to social media appears to have sparked a new eagerness to open up their lives—at least in a limited capacity.

In early February, the mother of two shared a video of herself inside the nine-bedroom, 16-bathroom estate, while showcasing a gift she had procured from pop star Billie Eilish to give to a California wildfire victim, whose home had been lost to the flames.

The grounds of the property were also featured in the couple’s Christmas card this year, which included a sweet image of the Sussexes embracing their children in the yard, with their beloved dogs happily roaming around their feet.

They were also included in a more emotional Instagram post shared by the Duchess in January, when she revealed that her beloved rescue dog, Guy, had died—while sharing a series of images and video of the beagle in and around the property.

“I have cried too many tears to count – the type of tears that make you get in the shower with the absurd hope that the running water on your face will somehow make you not feel them, or pretend they’re not there. But they are. And that’s okay too,” she wrote in her caption.

“Thank you for so many years of unconditional love, my sweet Guy. You filled my life in ways you’ll never know.”

However, anyone expecting to get a good glimpse inside the home in Markle’s new Netflix series will be sorely disappointed; instead of using her own home as the set for the show, the Duchess opted to rent out a nearby home, which is where she filmed much of the content for “With Love, Meghan.”

The four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom property is owned by local philanthropists Tom and Sherrie Cipolla, who purchased the dwelling for $4.7 million back in 2017, according to records. Realtor.com® estimates reveal that it is now worth upward of $8 million.

Nestled on 5 acres, the main farmhouse boasts a chic and elegant decor worthy of a Nancy Meyers movie—or a Meghan Markle docuseries—and features an open floor plan and ample windows that flood the home with plenty of light.

An additional barn on the property provides another filming location, while the picturesque grounds—which abound with lemon and avocado trees—served as a picture-perfect backdrop for Markle’s latest project.