HILARY Duff admits her new track We Don’t Talk is about her older sister Haylie — and she hates that the pair are estranged.
The actress and singer, 38, says the lack of a relationship with Haylie, 41, is “the most lonely part of my existence” — and she hopes they can one day patch things up.
“It’s definitely about my sister. And just absolutely the most lonely part of my existence is not having my sister in my life at the moment,” she said.
Why This Matters
Hilary Duff opening up about estrangement and family wounds turns a pop song into a candid conversation about loneliness, identity and healing—normalizing vulnerability among public figures and resonating with fans who’ve faced similar pain.
“I don’t know if she’ll hear it. I don’t know how she’ll react to it. You know, it is a really personal part of my life that doesn’t get to stay personal.
“So I might as well say how it is for me, and that’s all I’m trying to do. I’m not trying to say anything bad. It’s literally just my experience — and that’s really all I feel like sharing.”
In another song, The Optimist, Duff also examines her complicated relationship with her father.
“I think it’s really challenging for one person to have major success in a family,” she said.
“In The Optimist, that’s what it feels like for me. And I’m sure it has to feel like that for him. Although I’m the kid. And it’s been hard to get back to a place of health.
“There’s a lot of themes of abandonment on the record. And to make songs about that with [Koma] and just have him further understand kind of my scars was really nice.”
Duff — who shot to fame as a child star in Lizzie McGuire in 2001 — struggled to find her own identity outside of the show.
“I think only something that I’ve come to see in my thirties, once I went through my uncomfortable phase of not wanting to be associated with [Lizzie McGuire] anymore, was like, oh, it’s just complicated to play a role on TV that doesn’t ever grow up,” she explained.
“And now I don’t care at all. And I am so overwhelmingly grateful for that experience. But it was really challenging to get to a point of peace with that.
“I started to build my life and put my focus where I felt loved and seen for me.”
