How Ashley Tisdale's 'toxic mum group' essay stoked a years-long family feud

Celebs, they're just like us – in that they're also dealing with drama from their mum group.Ashley Tisdale has rocked the boat, starting off the new year by exposing her celebrity mum group for being "toxic".In a now-deleted post to media platform Substack, and later in a separate article with The Cut, the 40-year-old alleged she was "frozen out" of the tight-knit "clique" of fellow celebrity mums.Watch the video aboveHow it startedTisdale – also known as Ashley French following her marriage to her husband, composer Christopher French – wrote a raw reflection of the moment she realised the group was no longer serving her."Friendships, like all relationships, have seasons. Maybe a group truly was a good fit at one point, but if it's not the right fit for you now, it's okay to move on," she penned.The High School Musical alum shared that after the birth of her first daughter Jupiter in March 2021, she found herself wanting to connect with other mums.With her star-filled mum group, "I thought I found my village. Instead, I was back in high school," she wrote.After joining the group, the mum-of-two – who also shares daughter Emerson, born September 2024, with French, 44, – began to notice that she was often being left out of group activities, which she would later see playing out on Instagram stories and posts.READ MORE: Princess of Wales targeted in AI deepfake controversyREAD MORE: Aussie woman's surprise find inside chocolate boxREAD MORE: Gordon Ramsay's daughter unveils wedding secretThe dynamic became very obvious when she was purposely seated away from the other women during a dinner party."I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me," Tisdale wrote.As she put the pieces together, the Suite Life of Zack and Cody star realised that there was always one mum noticeably absent from group activities, even when she first joined the group.At the time, the Young and Hungry star had been enamoured by the "incredible, smart, funny" women and put the exclusion at the back of her mind – that is, until she was on the receiving end of it herself.Tisdale theorised that the group had "a pattern of leaving someone out" – and now, it was her turn.She went on to call out the group for their exclusion, telling them via text; "This is too high school for me and I don't want to take part in it anymore."For a daily dose of 9honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.The reaction to her message was immediate, she said, with many of the mums attempting to smooth things over.However, the cracks started to show immediately. One member reportedly sent flowers as an apology, but when Tisdale reached out to thank her, she proceeded to "ignore her".Another member claimed that the mums in the group had assumed Tisdale had been invited but simply chose not to show up.Since then, the actress has chosen not to reach out and make any amends for the failed friendship.Despite starting off her Substack piece by warning "online sleuths" off investigating the matter further, many fans were quick to point out the actress had once been part of a friendship group that included the likes of Meghan Trainor, Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore, all of them bonding over motherhood.The group was active on social media in the past, with Trainor sharing a number of photos of one of their 2022 gatherings, featuring the members of the group wearing matching tracksuits with the word mother featured on the leg. The singer captioned the post, "I have mom friends and I love them."The denial After the piece began circulating, a lot of speculation surrounded the celebrity mums in the group.A representative for Tisdale denied speculation that the "toxic mum group" referenced in the piece included Moore, 41, Duff, 38, or Trainor, 32.Speaking to TMZ, the rep said it was "unfortunate that Ashley's words had been twisted in that way."None of the celebrity mums reportedly involved had responded to the rumours either.It all seemed to simmer down after Tisdale's admission – until an unexpected attack just hours later.https://www.instagram.com/p/DS-UviIAdaT/?utm_source=ig_embed&The husbands weigh inDespite Hilary Duff herself remaining silent on the rumours, her husband Matthew Koma decided to give his two cents on the ordeal.On his Instagram stories on January 6 (local time), Koma, 38, shared a doctored AI image that replicated Tisdale's photoshoot for The Cut, with a new headline that shared his opinion.It read, "When you're the most self-obsessed, tone-deaf person on earth, other moms tend to shift their focus to their actual toddlers.""A mom group tell-all through a father's eyes," it was subtitled.This suggests that Hilary Duff was one of the so-called toxic mums in the group.The same day, French shared his own cryptic message to his Instagram stories. The composer reposted a November 2025 post from graphic designer Tyler Spangler.It read, "It's your choice whether or not to engage," in colourful letters.Family tiesIf it wasn't enough that her husband weighed in, now Duff's sister Haylie has also given her take.But instead of being on her sister's side in this mess, the 40-year-old appeared to support Tisdale.Keen-eyed social media fans noticed that the actress and singer 'liked" a joint Instagram post from Tisdale and The Cut promoting the essay."LEAVE YOUR TOXIC FRIENDS BEHIND YOU IN 2026, says @ashleytisdalefrench," the caption of the post read, "For #ItsBeenAYear, the actress, beauty founder, and mother details dumping her mom group, where the bullying between women mirrored their children's playground antics. Read the story of how it all unfolded, in her own words, at the link in bio."Though the 'like' could have been innocent, with the growing speculation against Hilary and the rest of the group – as well as the fact that the Duff sisters have not been photographed together since 2019 and are believed to be estranged – if nothing, it adds to the drama.Another opinionThis time, someone has come to the rescue of Mandy Moore, with actress Chelsea Handler defending her friend.The 50-year-old was asked about the viral essay on Page Six Radio Wednesday, to which she said, "I have no idea what went on, but I know Mandy Moore and she's a wonderful, sweet person."So I'll just say that. But I don't really know Ashley Tisdale," she admitted, "And I don't say it with disdain in the way I just said it," she insisted. "But I don't know Ashley Tisdale so I would like to be transparent."She added that she also likes Meghan Trainor and is "attracted to storylines" with Hilary Duff in them.The comedian has never been part of a mum group since she does not have children, sharing that she thinks "it sounds awful"."You're out of school, you're a mother and you have to deal with that dynamic and being excluded again as an adult woman. No, thank you."FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.