Ashley Tisdale French set off a firestorm together with her once-tight circle of superstar mothers in January 2026 after she abruptly left the group and proceeded to jot down an essay about former pals’ “poisonous” habits.
“The foundation of the problems was that among the girls simply grew to become nearer pals with one another, and Ashley began to really feel disregarded,” a supply completely informed Us Weekly in January 2026 within the aftermath of French’s The Minimize piece. “There have been instances when hangouts or get-togethers had been organized on the final minute, typically informal outings or fast dinners, and Ashley wasn’t included.”
In response to the insider, there wasn’t any “dangerous intent” to exclude French from the meetups.
“Friendships naturally modified and a few individuals bonded greater than others,” the supply claimed. “They felt like she made a much bigger deal out of all the pieces. The strain largely got here from what the group noticed as a conflict in priorities and values.”
Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor had been all linked to French’s mother group on the time of the bombshell interview and have little by little damaged their silence over the drama.
Hold scrolling for a whole timeline of French’s superstar mother group drama:
July 2021
Ashley Tisdale French, Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor went viral once they began sharing group Instagram pics from mommy-and-me music lessons with their respective infants.
“All da infants,” Duff wrote through Instagram Tales, later joking that French’s daughter Jupiter had “that robust facet eye” within the photographs.
Duff and husband Matthew However welcomed their second daughter, Mae, earlier that yr, across the identical time that Ashley and husband Christopher French welcomed Jupiter. Moore and Trainor additionally welcomed their respective first kids, sons Gus and Riley, in 2021.
Duff additionally shares son Luca with ex Mike Comriein addition to three daughters with Koma. Moore can be mother of Ozzie and Louise, whereas Trainor welcomed son Barry in 2023 and daughter Mikey through surrogate in January 2026. As for Ashley, she later gave delivery to daughter Emerson in 2024.
Could 2022
Mandy Moore revealed in an InStyle interview that Hilary Duff spear-headed the parenting group.
“Hilary is the good and he or she is a super-mom. She and Matt have develop into actually shut pals with my husband and I,” Moore informed InStyle, referring to husband Taylor Goldsmith. “They’ve a child who’s six weeks youthful than (our son) Gus. And so, we had infants on the identical time and he or she, being the super-mom that she is, fashioned a cool mother membership.”
She continued, “Someway, I obtained invited into it and it’s the very best. I’ve made so many great pals. All of us simply gathered earlier this week and had dinner and we’ve child lessons collectively and it’s unimaginable.”
In response to Moore, it was “a lot enjoyable” to hang around with the crew.
“I’m very, very grateful to have these assets and simply unimaginable girls to have the ability to lean on,” the This Is Us alum recalled. “We’re all form of going by way of this chapter of our lives collectively.”
November 2025
Months earlier than Ashley Tisdale French revealed her group exit, Hilary Duff detailed her experiences navigating varied friendship breakups.
“There (had been) a number of individuals the place I used to be like, ‘Oh I feel that individual is just not reliable,’” the Youthful alum mentioned on the “Therapuss” podcast. “I’ve all the time had a extremely good gauge of individuals. I feel it’s, like, a bit expertise that I’ve. I’ve actually good pals and it doesn’t take me lengthy to determine somebody out or simply determine that somebody’s not for me.”
Duff additional revealed insights into her good friend group — with out naming anybody specifically.
“I feel that lots of us maintain that house for one another, like, to the place we may include issues, however I’m simply very direct. Perhaps a bit an excessive amount of typically,” Duff mentioned, noting that she doesn’t “wish to struggle with individuals” however doesn’t “wish to have a rub with somebody or one thing and never work by way of it.”
Duff additional harassed that friendship breakups can typically be the very best transfer.
“It’s OK to edit. However you are feeling like a foul individual while you’re doing it,” Duff mentioned. “It’s a must to simply personal it and be like, ‘I can’t present up for you on this capability proper now. It feels overwhelming. And, blah blah blah. Like, I want some house.’ I’ve needed to do it a number of instances. I simply all the time need my facet of the road to be clear.”
January 2026
Ashley Tisdale French claimed in an essay for New York Journal’s The Minimize that she left her “poisonous” mother group.
“I keep in mind being disregarded of a few group hangs, and I knew about them as a result of Instagram made certain it fed me each single photograph and Instagram Story,” the Excessive Faculty Musical actress wrote. “I used to be beginning to really feel frozen out of the group, noticing each approach that they appeared to exclude me. … I informed myself it was all in my head, and it wasn’t a giant deal. And but, I may sense a rising distance between me and the opposite members of the group, who appeared to not even care that I wasn’t round a lot.”
With out mentioning any of her former pals by title, the commentary swiftly went viral — and even reached Hilary Duff’s husband. Matthew Koma joked through his Instagram Tales that he additionally deliberate to jot down a tell-all exposé in regards to the group after Ashley’s “tone-deaf” model.
Duff and Mandy Moore, in the meantime, had been shocked by French’s essay.
“All of them really feel blindsided and damage by Ashley talking out the way in which she did,” a second supply informed Us. “From their perspective, they believed the group was supportive and coming from an excellent place, and so they by no means thought there was any dangerous intent behind how issues performed out.”
Meghan Trainor, for her half, and husband Daryl Sabara have each damaged their silence and denied any beef on their finish. Daryl informed TMZ that month that there was, “No drama over right here, simply attempting to maintain the youngsters blissful.”
February 2026
Mandy Moore sang Hilary Duff’s praises amid the fallout of their alleged drama with Ashley Tisdale French, telling Glamour that Duff is “such an unimaginable expertise and such an unimaginable mom.”
The A Stroll to Bear in mind actress famous, “Seeing the way in which that she balances her life is de facto inspiring to me.”
Moore revealed she’s “exceedingly fortunate that my children occur to spend time with folks that I really feel like our values are aligned with,” referring to Duff and her husband, Matthew Koma.
She concluded, “The chums that I’ve made since turning into a guardian are among the deeper, extra stunning friendships I’ve discovered as an grownup.”
Later that month, Duff sounded off in regards to the drama with French throughout an look on the “Name Her Daddy” podcast.
“I felt actually unhappy. I actually felt actually unhappy. I used to be fairly, fairly greatly surprised and felt simply unhappy,” Duff recalled. “I’ve so many teams of pals. I’m so fortunate. I’ve my core group of pals who’ve been my journey or dies for 20 years … and I’ve tons of various teams of mother pals as a result of I’ve 4 children.”
The musician famous that it “sucks to learn one thing that’s not true,” including that it “sucks on behalf of six girls and all of their lives.”
Duff concluded, “I feel it got here at, like, the craziest time. The timing felt not nice and I felt used.”


