A Daily Mail correspondent visited Montecito, California, shortly after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to Britain, and found that the couple appear to have left little lasting impression on their former neighbourhood. A once-prominent in-store display of Meghan's As Ever product range at a local bookshop has been dismantled, with only a handful of items remaining, and residents described the couple as having stayed largely apart from community life during their six years there.

Locals quoted in the piece said the Sussexes rarely engaged with neighbours, with one woman recalling that a welcome bottle of wine she left at their gate was returned unopened. The article notes the couple arrived in Montecito in July 2020 amid huge fanfare, including a five-year, $100 million deal with Netflix, but that the excitement had since faded, with paparazzi presence declining and residents expressing relief now that the family has moved to Britain.