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Hilary Duff has been happily married to musician Matthew Koma since December 19, 2019. Yet, the journey to her current life was filled with notable relationships that fans of her career, particularly from her “Lizzie McGuire” days, might remember well. For those less familiar, Duff’s romantic history includes well-known names like Aaron Carter, Frankie Muniz, Joel Madden, and her first husband, Mike Comrie. While Duff now prefers a quieter lifestyle, these relationships were widely publicized in the early 2000s.
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Throughout her career, Duff has been open about her personal life, which occasionally led to some public spats—Lindsay Lohan being a famous example. However, the disclosure goes both ways, as several of her former partners have shared their perspectives. Frankie Muniz, who briefly dated Duff in the early 2000s, revealed that they parted ways without closure. Speaking about their time on the “Agent Cody Banks” set, Muniz mentioned, “I haven’t spoken to Hilary since filming wrapped. From that day, not a word,” as reported by E! News. He added that their brief romance added awkwardness to their professional relationship.
Now, let’s delve into what other past partners have expressed about Duff over the years.
During the early 2000s, Hilary Duff and Aaron Carter had an on-and-off romance, complicated by Carter’s simultaneous interest in fellow pop star Lindsay Lohan. “I was dating her for about a year and a half,” Carter once disclosed, according to ABC News. “Then I got bored and started seeing Lindsay [Lohan]. That didn’t last, so I returned to Hilary, but eventually cheated on her with her best friend.”
Despite the casual tone Carter adopted when discussing their relationship, his feelings for Duff lingered long after their teenage years. In a heartfelt 2014 post on X, he confessed his enduring affection, stating, “I’ll spend my life improving myself to win her back,” as reported by ABC News. “I don’t care what ANY of you think.”
Aaron Carter never got over Hilary Duff
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Hilary Duff and Aaron Carter dated on-and-off during the early 00’s. At least when Carter wasn’t also entertaining pop idol Lindsay Lohan. “I was actually dating her for like, a year and a half. And then I just got a little bored so I went, and I started getting to know Lindsay [Lohan]. Dating Lindsay,” he once revealed (via ABC News). “Then I didn’t want to do that anymore, so I got back with Hilary and then I ended up cheating on Hilary with her best friend.”
Despite Carter’s then-nonchalant attitude about their relationship, he retained a deep affection for Duff long after their teen years ended. In 2014, Carter took to X and revealed that he still wanted her. “I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to better myself to get back to her,” he posted (via ABC News). “I don’t care what ANY of you think.”
Although Duff was married to Mike Comrie at the time, she was still on the mind of the troubled former child star in 2022. “I’ve never been broken up with. The only person that broke up with me was Hilary Duff,” Carter revealed during his last-ever interview on the “No Jumper” podcast in November of 2022 (via Hype Bae). He died just a few days after the interview aired.
Joel Madden stayed far away from gossip about his relationship with Hilary
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Hilary Duff also dated singer Joel Madden. In an uncomfortable reminder of Hollywood’s age-gap obsession, Madden was 25 when he started romancing 16-year-old Duff. The reason for their breakup has never been revealed, but they were definitely done-zo by 2006. When asked about Duff in 2007, Madden seemed ready to put things behind them. “I kind of ignored it and tried to just continue to live my life,” Madden said about the interest in their split to People. “People can say or think whatever they want … so in my reality, it’s kind of irrelevant. I’m always the kind of person that does the right thing and keeps my side of the street clean.”
In November 2025, Duff sparked renewed interest in their romance with her song, “Mature,” which chronicled her relationship with a much older guy. The Disney star never actually named and shamed Madden as the source material, but fans believe it’s about him.
In response, Madden seemingly responded to the gossip on social media. He reposted a photo of Duff and his wife, Nicole Richie — who are friends — celebrating the release. “‘Mature’ is not the word I would use to describe us, but regardless, this song is a BOP,” Richie wrote over the original post(via E! News). Just when you think you have Hollywood figured out!
Mike Comrie is committed to co-parenting but stays quiet about their marriage
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Hilary Duff was married to NHL star Mike Comrie from 2010 until 2016, when their divorce was finalized. They had one son together during their marriage, and their split took some adjusting. “Some of my friends tell me, ‘God, it must be so nice, you get a break from your kid because you share him.’ I’m divorced, and it sucks,” Duff told Redbook in 2017. However, she did eventually see the positive in their new dynamic. “I had Luca by myself for a few weeks, no help, when Mike was on the road, and when he got home I was like, ‘He’s yours! Bye!’”
Unlike some of Duff’s chattier exes, he hasn’t said anything about her since their divorce. But his silence doesn’t mean things were easy behind the scenes. Figuring out how to co-parent their toddler after their divorce was especially difficult for the pair. “That was a really tough call because we had not even a 2-year-old kid,” Duff shared on “Call Her Daddy” (via Us Weekly) about sharing custody with Comrie. “I remember doing everything in my power to have it be peaceful and have us hanging out and spending time together.” She continued, “Every time we would trade, it wouldn’t just be a drop off, pick up situation, we would go to the park and hang … It was really important to me to do it in a way that Luca could feel comfy.”