Martha Stewart has done it all, writes Nicky Rennie.
Well, I’ve surprised myself by really enjoying my study to become a licensed real estate agent.
You can teach an old dog new tricks, it would appear, but I’ve managed to take small breaks and have given myself Netflix time with mixed results.
I thought I’d try to watch With Love, Meghan to see what all the fuss was about.
This is the foray by Meghan Markle (these days the Duchess of Sussex) into hosting her own lifestyle show. I say try to watch because it was so nauseatingly bad that I just couldn’t.
I’m not sure what it is about the former Suits star, now married to Prince Harry, that I find so annoying, but she just doesn’t seem authentic enough.
Everything is just “darling”. If you’re someone who doesn’t like a lot of flowers in your food, this show is not for you.
They’re in the ice cubes, for goodness’ sake. You’d be farting rainbows for weeks.
I love a good cooking show, but this has an air of sanctimony about it that simply screams, “I raise my own chickens and grow all my own veges, so I’m better than you.”
It isn’t even set in her own home.
Then, just when you think she isn’t talented enough, she starts on the flower arranging.
Give me strength. Harry makes an appearance near the end as she entertains all her friends. He’s a shadow of his former self, that one. I miss him.
I guess my biggest issue with the show is that it makes other women feel that they aren’t enough if they don’t serve up barn-raised everything outdoors on a gingham tablecloth.
The pressure on women is great enough as it is.
On a theme, if you want to watch a documentary about a true superwoman, watch Martha.
She’s quite a polarising character, Martha Stewart, and she has put up with a lot of criticism for years about overperforming and making others feel substandard, but she is one very interesting woman who has led an interesting life.
Throw in a prison sentence for good measure, and you have the recipe for a great documentary.
She was ahead of her time, groundbreaking, and I for one admire her greatly.
How she fitted everything she has done into her life is beyond me.
I felt tired just watching it. It’s in her own words and shows a lot of never-before-seen footage.
She’s a prickly character who doesn’t suffer fools, and you’re certainly under no illusions when she doesn’t like something or someone.
You get it straight between the eyes. A lot of people love to hate Martha Stewart, but unlike Megan’s efforts, you just know that Martha has really done it all.
The thing about her that you have to admire is that she is as resilient as hell, and she is still as relevant as she ever was.
Snoop Dogg has taken care of that from an image perspective.
She appeared on the Celebrity Roast of Justin Bieber, which was an absolute stroke of genius.
Her self-deprecating humour won the day, mostly about being in prison.
It was just gold, and it cemented a whole new fanbase for her with the younger set. No mean feat at her age.
Martha Stewart is now 84 years old and looks at least 20 years younger than that. (She probably made some face cream out of goose tallow).
Don’t get me wrong, I love her and all, but I wouldn’t want her to come to my home for dinner.
She’s just too good at too many things, and I think I’d get performance anxiety.
I’m still smarting from being told by an ex that I’m “just an average home cook”. How rude.
You’d almost feel that if Martha came for dinner, she’d hold up scorecards for presentation, taste and execution.
It must be hard to be her, she’s not a very soft person, and I am actually gobsmacked at everything she can do. Cooking, making beautiful gardens, renovations, flower arranging.
It must be exhausting to live with her. Imagine that “who do you think you are? Martha Stewart?”
Well, she is actually, and no, she hasn’t had it easy from a relationship perspective.
Her first husband left her for someone else, which she didn’t handle well at all, and then the partner she was with when she went to the clink upped and got married to someone else.
You can’t cook your way out of that one, but I guess she is human after all. This is the price you pay for perfection.
People want to see her fail at just something because she just seems too good to be true.
She’s easily the most driven person I’ve ever seen and a hard taskmaster, but she doesn’t really seem all that approachable or soft.
She had a very strict father, so while the meals were served with aplomb, the hugs weren’t.
They simply didn’t get dished out.
After seeing the pressure she puts herself under on a daily basis, I’ve come to the conclusion that just being an average home cook is an okay thing to be. Much less exhausting.
Whanganui-based Nicky Rennie returned to her home town in 2018 while celebrating three decades in broadcasting. She has written a column for the Whanganui Chronicle since 2021.