Haylie Duff Fuels Speculation in Ashley Tisdale’s Mom Group Drama

Haylie Duff is now involved in the controversy surrounding Ashley Tisdale French’s essay on “problematic” mom groups.

Us Weekly can confirm 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.

“STEP AWAY FROM YOUR HARMFUL FRIENDS IN 2026, says @ashleytisdalefrench,” the post read. “For #ItsBeenAYear, the actress, beauty founder, and mother shares leaving a group of mothers, where the bullying among women mirrored their children’s playground behavior. Read the story of how it all unfolded, in her own words, at the link in bio.”

Although liking the post might seem harmless, there has been speculation that the mom group in question could include Haylie’s sister, Hilary Duff. (Us Weekly has reached out to Haylie, Hilary and French’s team for comment.)

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In an Instagram Story posted on Tuesday, January 6, Hilary’s husband, Matthew Koma, criticized French’s essay.

“A mom group tell-all through a father’s perspective,” Koma, 38, wrote in a playful “promotion” of his own (fictional) The Cut article. “When you’re the most self-centered and out-of-touch person around, other moms tend to focus on their actual toddlers.”

Ashley’s husband, Christopher French, also inserted himself into the situation by posting a mysterious quote to his Instagram Story that read, “It’s your decision whether or not to participate.”

Haylie and Hilary, 38, have not been photographed together since 2019, leading some fans to believe the sisters are not as close as they once were.

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In a November 2025 interview with Rolling Stone, Hilary appeared to address “family issues” while discussing her return to music.

“I have this unique connection with fans that I’ve known since I was 9, 10 years old, and I simply want to connect with them again,” she explained to the publication at the time. “We have experienced many of the same things — whether that’s complicated relationships, anxiety, raising children, divorces, trying to find yourself in adulthood, family issues… Finally I felt secure enough and comfortable in my own family to step outside and share that part of myself again.”

Ashley’s essay on toxic mom groups went viral at the beginning of the year. In the personal piece, the Being Frenshe founder detailed feeling excluded by a group of moms in her California neighborhood. Before officially distancing herself from the group, she texted her peers, “This is too reminiscent of high school, and I don’t want to be involved in it anymore.”

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According to TMZ, Ashley’s representative denied reports that she was referring to fellow celebrities Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor and Hilary in her essay.

The representative added that Ashley had intended for her piece, titled “Ending My Relationship With My Toxic Mom Group,” to be a way to highlight a problem that other women can relate to.

“You deserve to go through motherhood with people who genuinely, you know, appreciate you,” Ashley wrote. “And if you have to question whether they do, here’s the hard-earned lesson I hope you’ll take to heart: It’s not the right group for you. Even if it looks like they’re having the best time on Instagram.”