Ashley Tisdale Frenchties with Hilary Duff and his family, mainly his sister Hayley Duff – started long before she joined Hilary’s “cool moms club” and turned heads to leave a group of unnamed “toxic” moms.
Like French’s “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” essay. New York Magazine‘s the cut continues to make news, which some believe includes Hilary, 38, among others A-list momshis past with the Duff brothers has resurfaced.
In 2016, French, 40, sold his Los Angeles home in Studio City to Hilary’s older sister. Haylie, 40, bought the luxury pad for $2.7 million, Real estate agent reported on Sunday, January 7.
French originally bought the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home a year earlier for $2.5 million, making $200,000 on the resale to Haylie. The home, which features a theater and pool, was relisted and sold in 2019 for $3.1 million, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Haylie Duff has been embroiled in the drama surrounding Ashley Tisdale French’s essay about “toxic” moms’ groups. Us Weekly can confirm that Duff, 40, “liked” a joint Instagram post from both French, 40, and The Cut promoting an essay detailing the High School Musical star’s experience with a group of friends. “LEAVE YOUR TOXIC FRIENDS (…)
While it’s not entirely unlikely that child stars like French and Hilary and Haylie’s paths will cross several times throughout their careers, the house connection adds to the lore that now surrounds French and Hilary, who both starred. Disney Channel when I was a teenager.
French played Maddie Fitzpatrick on the Disney Channel Suite Life of Zack & Cody as well as Sharpay Evans al Musical Baccalaureate franchise after Hilary made a splash on the web as the lead Lizzie McGuire from 2001 to 2004.
Outside of their Disney connection, and French selling Haylie their home in 2016, French and Hilary bonded as adults through motherhood.
After Hilary and her husband Matthew But welcomed her second baby, daughter Mae, in 2021 the actress formed a group of mothers consisting of a few prominent celebrities. (Hilary and Koma, 38, share daughters Banks, 7, Mae, 4, and Townes, 20 months. Hilary is also mother to son Luca, 11, who she shares with her ex-husband. Mike Comrie.)
Ashley Tisdale French’s no-holds-barred comment about being kicked out of a “toxic” mom group has caught the attention of many celebrities. In January 2026, Ashley, who shares two daughters with husband Christopher French, raised eyebrows with an essay for The Cut titled “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” as she candidly (…)
Ashley, who welcomed her first daughter, Jupiter husband Christopher Frenchthat same year she was one of the ladies immediately brought into the fold. (The couple welcomed their second daughter, Emerson, in September 2024.)
Mandy Moorewho shares two sons and a daughter with her husband Taylor Goldsmithit was too part of the crew after welcoming their first baby, Gus, in 2021.
Meghan Trainorwho shares two children with her husband Daryl Sabaraas well as the author of famous cookbooks Gaby Dalkin are among the other famous faces who was exchanging parenting tips at the club.
In October 2025, the group of mothers went on a second girls’ trip, the first was in 2022, but Ashley was not there. Trainor, 32, was also absent from the getaway.
Ashley Tisdale French, Hilary Duff, Meghan Trainor and more mom friends.
Courtesy of Hilary Duff/InstagramAshley’s absence from the trip didn’t immediately raise eyebrows, but after she posted her “toxic mom group” essay on January 1, fans began to speculate that those women were ones she had chosen to distance herself from.
Ashley recalled in the story that she “felt left out” of her mom group. “I told myself it was all in my head, and it wasn’t a big deal,” she wrote. “And yet I could feel a growing distance between me and the other members of the group, who didn’t even seem to care that I wasn’t very close.”
The Act two of Carol alum he said he finally texted the women, “This is too secondary for me and I don’t want to be involved anymore” and left.
Ashley Tisdale French raised eyebrows earlier this month when she revealed she left her “toxic” mom friend group nearly five years after bonding with the women over pregnancy and motherhood. “Here I was sitting alone one night after my daughter went to bed, thinking, ‘Maybe I’m not cool enough?'” Ashley, who shares daughters Jupiter, 4 (…)
While Ashley’s rep allegedly denied it TMZ earlier this week that the group of friends in question including Hilary, Moore, 41, and Trainor, many of the women’s fans couldn’t believe it. (Eagle-eyed social media users noticed that Ashley no longer follows Hilary or Moore on Instagram.)
“The root of the problems was that some of the women became closer friends with each other, and Ashley started to feel left out.” a source explained exclusively Us Weekly on Thursday, January 8. “There were times when meet-ups or last-minute get-togethers were arranged, often casual outings or quick dinners, and Ashley wasn’t included. There was no ill intent. Friendships naturally changed and some people bonded more than others.”
Moore and Hilary have not spoken publicly about Ashley’s trial, but both Koma and Trainor have. “A group of moms tell it all through a dad’s eyes: When you’re the most obsessed tone-deaf person on Earth, other moms tend to focus on their little ones,” Koma wrote via her Instagram story mocking the title of Ashley’s piece.
Trainor, meanwhile, shared a TikTok on Thursday who said, “I found out about the apparent mom group drama,” as she sat at a desk and typed away on a computer with her song “Still Don’t Care” playing in the background.
Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore wish Ashley Tisdale French wouldn’t go public with her troubles in her now-viral essay about leaving behind a group of “toxic” moms. “They all feel blindsided and hurt because Ashley is speaking out the way she did,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly of the circle of friends. “From their perspective, they (…)
As rumors about who was in the group and what really happened began to swirl, Haylie showed subtle support for Ashley. Hayley “Like” Ashley’s post on Instagram promoting her essay, which to some meant he was siding with the actress.
The ‘like’ sparked even more speculation due to rumors that Haylie and Hilary aren’t as close as they once were after Haylie moved to Texas with his family after the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
Haylie and Hilary haven’t been photographed together since 2019, and in late 2025, Hilary hinted that family drama played a role in her decision to delay her return to music.
“I have this crazy connection with fans that I’ve known since I was 9 or 10, and I just want to connect with them again,” Hilary said. The Rolling Stone in November 2025. “We’ve been through a lot of the same things, whether it’s complicated relationships, anxiety, raising kids, divorce, trying to find adulthood, family drama…I finally felt safe and comfortable enough in my own family to come out and open up that part of me again.”