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Hilary Duff is opening up about personal family challenges. In a candid conversation on CBS Mornings this past Friday, February 20, the singer and actress shared insights about her latest song “We Don’t Talk” from her forthcoming album, luck…or something. The track, she disclosed, addresses a poignant disconnect with her sister, Haylie Duff.
“The song definitely speaks to my relationship with my sister,” Hilary, now 38, revealed to interviewer Anthony Mason. “It’s about one of the loneliest periods in my life, not having my sister around. I grappled with whether or not to include it on the album.”
Hilary, known for hits like “Weather for Tennis,” elaborated on the significance of authenticity in her music. She noted that many people endure such estrangements, and for her, the album needed to revolve around genuine connections.
“A lot of people experience this kind of separation,” she expressed, her emotions evident. “For me, this album had to be about truth and connection. I wasn’t interested in using songs from other writers. What would be the point if it didn’t reflect my life and experiences?”
Reflecting on her journey in the public eye, Hilary recalled her early years starring in Lizzie McGuire and more recent roles like in Younger. “Growing up in the spotlight wasn’t something I chose, but it’s my reality,” she admitted, “and expressing it through my music has been healing.” The scrutiny of fame, she acknowledged, can be challenging.
“It’s hard to watch your life unfold on the internet sometimes with talking heads on TikTok speculating this, that, and the other. Sometimes they’re wrong and sometimes they’re right.”
When asked whether she hoped Haylie, 41, would hear the track, Hilary was candid:
“I don’t think that that would help. I think I have to just exist as a person on my own and do what I want to do. I hope that for everyone that is where I’m sitting, you have to do what you want to do and you have to do what feels good for you. It’s taken me a lot of time to get there and to live that way and to not care what the noise is going to be around it and just be me.”
She added, “I don’t know how she’ll react to it. But 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 as an experience. 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.”
Hilary also touched on family dynamics in a Glamour cover story published February 17, noting that complicated relationships with her sister and father, Robert, influenced the album.
“That’s my family. Those are the people that affect you the most, take up the most space naturally as a human who’s born into something. Just because you’re born into a family doesn’t mean that it always stays together. You can only control your side and your street. I’ve had a very complicated life, and my parents had a very complicated thing. I know it’s not rare, and I think it goes back to the theme of, Why share now? I guess I just felt ready.”
Fans first got a hint of the personal nature of the song last month when Hilary debuted “We Don’t Talk” at her Small Rooms, Big Nerves concerts.
Lyrics such as, “I’m not sure when it happened / Not even sure what it was about,” also reference coming from “the same home, the same blood,” fueling speculation about her relationship with Haylie.