Ashley Tisdale French’s ties to Hilary Duff and her family — mainly sister Haylie Duff — began well before she joined Hilary’s “cool mom club” and turned heads for exiting an unnamed “toxic” mom group.
As French’s “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” essay for New York Magazine’s The Cut continues to make headlines, which some think included Hilary, 38, among other A-list moms, her past with the Duff siblings has resurfaced.
In 2016, French, 40, sold her Los Angeles home in Studio City to Hilary’s older sister. Haylie, 40, purchased the lavish pad for $2.7 million, Realtor reported on Sunday, January 7.
French initially bought the five-bedroom, six-bathroom home one year prior for $2.5 million, making $200,000 on the resale to Haylie. The house, which features a theater and pool, was listed again and sold in 2019 for $3.1 million, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Haylie Duff Shows Support for Ashley Tisdale Amid Hilary Duff Drama
While it’s not totally unlikely that child stars like French and both Hilary and Haylie’s paths would cross several times throughout their careers, the house connection adds to the lore that now surrounds French and Hilary, who both starred on Disney Channel as teenagers.
French played Maddie Fitzpatrick on Disney Channel’s Suite Life of Zack & Cody as well as Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical franchise after Hilary made a splash on the network as the lead on Lizzie McGuire from 2001 to 2004.
Outside of their Disney connection — and French selling Haylie her home in 2016 — French and Hilary bonded as adults over motherhood.
After Hilary and husband Matthew Koma welcomed their second baby, daughter Mae, in 2021 the actress formed a mom group made up of a few noteworthy celebs. (Hilary and Koma, 38, share daughters Banks, 7, Mae, 4, and Townes, 20 months. Hilary is also the mother of son Luca, 11, whom she shares with ex-husband Mike Comrie.)
Matthew Koma and More Stars React to Ashley Tisdale’s Mom Group Drama
Ashley, who welcomed her first daughter, Jupiter, with husband Christopher French, that same year was one of the ladies immediately brought into the fold. (The couple welcomed their second daughter, Emerson, in September 2024.)
Mandy Moore, who shares two sons and a daughter with husband Taylor Goldsmith, was also part of the crew after welcoming her first baby, Gus, in 2021.
Meghan Trainor, who shares two sons with husband Daryl Sabara, as well as celebrity cookbook author Gaby Dalkin are among the other famous faces who traded parenting tips in the club.
In October 2025, the mom group went on a second girls’ trip — the first was in 2022 — but Ashley wasn’t there. Trainor, 32, was also absent from the getaway.
Ashley’s absence from the trip didn’t immediately raise eyebrows, but after publishing her “toxic mom group” essay on January 1, fans began to speculate those women were the ones she had chosen to distance herself from.
Ashley recalled in the story that she was “feeling left out” from 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 sense a growing distance between me and the other members of the group, who seemed to not even care that I wasn’t around much.”
The Carol’s Second Act alum said she eventually texted the women, “This is too high school for me, and I don’t want to take part in it anymore” and left.
Who Is in Ashley Tisdale’s Celeb Mom Group? Everything to Know
While Ashley’s rep allegedly denied to TMZ earlier this week that the friend group in question included Hilary, Moore, 41, and Trainor, many fans of the women didn’t believe it. (Eagle-eyed social media users noticed that Ashley no longer follows Hilary or Moore on Instagram.)
“The root of the issues was that some of the women just became closer friends with each other, and Ashley started to feel left out,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, January 8. “There were times when hangouts or get-togethers were organized at the last minute, often casual outings or quick dinners, and Ashley wasn’t included. There wasn’t any bad intent. Friendships naturally changed and some people bonded more than others.”
Moore and Hilary have not publicly spoken about Ashley’s essay, but both Koma and Trainor have. “A mom group tell-all through a father’s eyes: When You’re the Most Self-Obsessed Tone Deaf Person on Earth, Other Moms Tend to Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers,” Koma wrote via his Instagram Story mocking the title of Ashley’s piece.
Trainor, meanwhile, shared a TikTok on Thursday that read, “Me finding out about the apparent mom group drama,” as she sat at a desk and typing on a computer and her song “Still Don’t Care” played in the background.
Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore Felt ‘Blindsided’ by Ashley Tisdale’s Essay
As the rumors about who was in the group and what really went down began to swirl, Haylie showed subtle support for Ashley. Haylie “liked” Ashley’s Instagram post promoting her essay, which to some meant she was siding with the actress.
The “like” sparked even more speculation due to rumors that Haylie and Hilary are not as close as they once were after Haylie moved to Texas with her family following 2020’s coronavirus pandemic.
Haylie and Hilary have not been photographed together since 2019, and in late 2025, Hilary hinted that family drama influenced her decision to delay her return to music.
“I have this crazy connection with fans that I’ve known since I was 9, 10 years old, and I just want to connect with them again,” Hilary told The Rolling Stone in November 2025. “We have gone through a lot of the same things — whether that’s complicated relationships, anxiety, raising kids, divorces, trying to find yourself in adulthood, family drama… Finally I felt safe enough and comfortable in my own family to step outside and open that part of myself up again.”
Discover more from Entertainmentnutz
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.