Hilary Duff is not like the other celebrity moms out there in the entertainment industry. Compared to many others, she started off young. According to some people, she might have started off a little too young. People were shocked to find out that she was only 24 when she gave birth to her son, Luca and even admits that she felt judged – a lot.
Sure, 24 doesn’t seem too young or too old for the rest of us, but when you’re in Hollywood, that age makes you feel like a baby. Yet, here was Hilary Duff, doing her own thing and getting a lot of side eye for it from her peers. That’s because she did the unthinkable: Hilary put her career on hold to start a family and raise her baby. And she’s doing things her way, regardless of what others might have to say about it.
Of course, Hilary admits that it’s not always easy. And the fact that her marriage to her ex Mike Comrie fell apart sure didn’t make things easier, too. But that’s not stopping her from being the best mother to her son Luca that she can be. With that being said, here are 15 facts about Hilary Duff’s parenting that you probably didn’t know. Take a look at our list below and let us know what you think!
15 She Has A New Perspective On Life
While there’s no doubt that Hilary Duff has a few regrets about her life, if there’s one thing that doesn’t fit in that category, it’s her decision to become a mother. She says that it’s given her a new perspective on life. Sure, she might be a young mother, but that doesn’t make her any different than the other celebrity moms out there.
Hilary says she is thankful for each and every day she gets to spend with her pride and joy Luca.
“Being a mom now has taken so much pressure off the ‘what ifs,’” she told ET Canada. “Like, ‘What if?’ OK. I’m still going to be Luca’s mom and I still have an important role in life. And I think taking that break made me so human again.”
14 She Doesn’t Sugar Coat Anything
Unlike many other Hollywood celebrities out there, Hilary Duff doesn’t sugar coat anything. She’s the first person to be very honest about all of the ups and downs about parenting, regardless of how painful the truth might be. And yes, it does get very hard, especially when she is doing things on her own.
"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 tells Redbook. "Well, it did suck for a while; now it's just normal. But it's true, I do get a break. I had [5-year-old son] Luca by myself for a few weeks, no help, when [ex-husband NHL player] Mike [Comrie] was on the road, and when he got home I was like, 'He's yours! Bye!'"
13 She Got Blasted For Kissing Her Son
As many of her fans know, Hilary likes to keep her life scandal free. She hates making the gossip headlines for the stuff she does behind closed doors. But she couldn’t believe what she was hearing when she got blasted for kissing her own son Luca on the lips. The Hollywood actress shared a photo of her having an innocent peck on the lips with her son during a fun-filled day at Disneyland. A social media backlash ensued and according to Hilary, she wasn’t having it.
She let her trolls know exactly what she thought about their judgment.
“For anyone commenting that a kiss on the lips with my four year old is ‘inappropriate’ go ahead and click unfollow with your warped minds and judgment,” she wrote, according to the Huffington Post.
12 She Deals With The Stress
Stress. It’s such a dirty little S word, isn’t it? Well, it’s one that everyone deals with, including Hilary Duff. And what makes matters worse on her is that every mistake she makes is somehow recorded or documented by the media. She just can’t catch a break. Luckily for Hilary, she doesn’t pretend to know all of the answers, either. She’s not a perfect mother and she doesn’t want to come off as one in front of her fans.
“You think because you carried a baby inside you and you’re so close to them, you think you should know all the answers,” she told HuffPost. “You put a lot of pressure on yourself. So be proud of yourself and take time for yourself, [which] is not always easy to do when you’re in the thick of it.
11 She Embraces Her Mommy Curves
Simply put, Hilary Duff isn’t like the rest of the girls in Hollywood. She’s strong, she’s healthy and she is proud of her girls. She also doesn’t obsess over here weight or believe that she has to be a certain size in order to win certain roles. In other words, she embraces her curves and will even go as far as saying that she feels better about them now that she’s a mom.
And the best part? She doesn’t care what you think.
“I am posting this on behalf of young girls, women, and mothers of all ages,” she wrote on her Instagram account, according to the Huffington Post. “I’m enjoying a vacation with my son after a long season of shooting and being away from him for weeks at a time over those months. Since websites and magazines love to share ‘celeb flaws’ ― well I have them!”
10 She Didn’t Want To Be A Single Mom
Hilary’s life might look like bliss from the outside, but from within it’s a different story. She always envisioned herself as a happily married wife and mother to a big family. But things fell apart when she pulled the plug on her short marriage to her ex-husband, Mike Comrie.
She told Redbook, “Something to be taken very seriously, and I was so happy to be married. I think that I was in a very successful marriage for a long time. I never want to have any negative. ... I mean, that's hard to say: 'no negative feelings.' But we got together based on love, and we separated in a very loving way. I can't imagine going through that process with anyone but him, and he continues to be my very good friend. That's honestly speaking from my heart. So, I think we handled it very consciously and with a lot of love."
9 She Wanted To Have Another Child
Hilary and Mike had internal issues that they just couldn’t resolve. And hey, we are not here to judge her for them, either. But Hilary makes it no secret that she always wanted to have another child close to age to Luca. She never thought that she would one day be a single mom in Hollywood raising her son on her own. And for Hilary, it’s a feeling that kind of sucks.
But it’s a part of her reality that she’s now accepted.
"I've gotten over the fact that I'm not going to have a baby that's close in age with Luca," Duff told Redbook. "It sucked when everyone would be like, 'When are you having another?' I'd be like, 'Do you know what's happening right now? I'm not having another.'"
8 She Emphasizes The Importance Of Self Care
As many women out there know, motherhood is a 24-hour a day job that doesn’t stop. You don’t get to take breaks or PTO days for that matter. And as a result, we often feel weak and fatigued. That’s why Hilary emphasizes the importance of self-care, for both her and her fans. She wants everyone to step back, relax and take care of themselves once in awhile. Don’t worry, the world won’t fall off its axis in the meanwhile.
“I think asking for help on a tired day isn’t a sign of weakness,” she told People in 2013. “A lot of changes have come into your life quickly and it’s important to take time for yourself! Whether that be a workout, a bath, shopping with friends, or even reading outside for half an hour, all moms should take that time.”
7 She Knows It's A Roller Coaster Job
Sure, Hilary Duff might have the means to employ 24-hour help with her son Luca. After all, she’s a huge television star and she has the paychecks to back it up. But that’s not the kind of mother she wants to be. She’s a hands-on mom.
She also knows that it’s like being on a roller coaster, both physically and emotionally, too.
She told the Huffington Post back in 2013, “But it is also a big struggle. It’s the hardest thing as well. You’re exhausted. You don’t have all the answers, no matter how many books you’ve read. You’re dealing with a hormonal roller coaster. It’s a lot of different things that you don’t always understand. So having a support system around me was key in the first year.”
6 Her Tug-Of-War With The Media
Being a mother is not easy. And for Hilary Duff, being a mother in the public spotlight makes things worse. She feels that she is always being criticized for the things she does, and that she has no control over it. And as a result, she often has a tug-of-war battle with the media. They say one thing, she is forced to come up with a rebuttal. And this has been going on for years and there seems to be no end in sight.
According to US Weekly, she said, “After I had Luca, I went out to, like, the breast-pump store ― I was still huge ― and I just had a comfortable outfit on. And the next day [in the tabloids] it was like, ‘Hilary debuts post-baby bod!’ And I was like, ‘That’s not a debut! That’s an errand!’ It was such a happy time that honestly I didn’t care; it wasn’t until later that I realized how mean and invasive it was.”
5 She Has Mommy Guilt
One of the worst things about being a mom is not the sleepless nights or the endless amount of dirty diapers that need to be changed. Instead, it’s the feeling you get whenever you’re not around or missing out on all of the important milestones. And Hilary knows that feeling all too well.
That’s right – we are talking about mommy guilt here. The suckiest feeling of them all.
"I always feel torn or guilty about something," she said. "I'm not working right now, and at first I stressed about that, like, 'Oh, I shouldn't stay still this long.' And that's ridiculous," she notes. "I have a child; it's totally fine to not be slammed all the time. It feels really good to not be on someone else's schedule—besides Luca's. I'm basically his chauffeur!"
4 Those Sleepless Nights
Hilary Duff might be a huge star in her own right, but that doesn’t mean she gets to skip out on all of the rather difficult moments that come with the job we like to call motherhood. That’s right – Hilary had to deal with all of those sleepless nights just like the rest of us. For those of you who think that Hilary passes off her child like a baton to her nanny, that’s not the case at all.
“The first week I was like, ‘I’m doing this, I’m good. I can not sleep, I can do this.’ I don’t know where you get that energy from. Then it hits you — the fatigue,” Hilary told People Magazine in an interview. “So many people were like, ‘Take naps when your baby naps,’” she added. “So I tried, and it really helped a lot. I thought when he was napping that was the time I could do all the things I needed to do. It’s a fine balance.”
3 Her Thoughts On The Mommy Wars
As a celebrity mom and actress in the spotlight, Hilary Duff knows what the mommy wars are all about.
All you need to do is take a peek at the comments section in her social media accounts to read all of the controversial and nasty remarks from naysayers who think they know best.
She told Parents in an interview, “I just think that there's so much judgment in the world, whether it's coming from women in general or from men onto women -- it's a lot. And when it comes to being a mom, I wish everyone could band together and realize that everyone has different beliefs, different styles, and different things that work for them and their family. Hopefully you can speak up when you absolutely need to, but otherwise keep your mouth shut.”
2 Her Views On Co-Parenting
Believe it or not, Hilary Duff and her ex-husband Mike Comrie have so far done a fantastic job of co-parenting their son Luca together. They might no longer be romantically involved, but they still take the time to go on park play dates, have family time and even go on vacations together. In other words, there’s no hate between them. Hilary treats Mike like he’s still a partner, even though the only thing they do together is co-parent.
“We have such a great kid, and we’re both so obsessed with him,” Duff said on “The Ellen Show” in 2016. “We are good friends and we laugh a lot and we have a great communication. We share pictures when one is not with Luca. Yeah, he’s great. We are great and we keep on trucking.”
1 She Expresses Gratitude
Hilary Duff knows that she has a blessed life. She has her friends, her family, and of course, her fans that support her each and every day. She’s got her career and she’s got her son Luca.
She’s got a lot to be thankful about and that’s why she expresses gratitude for just about everything – including her health and her body.
According to People Magazine, she wrote on Instagram, “My body has given me the greatest gift of my life: Luca, 5 years ago. I’m turning 30 in September and my body is healthy and gets me where I need to go. Ladies, lets be proud of what we’ve got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed. You guys (you know who you are!) already know how to ruin a good time, and now you are body shamers as well.”
References: ET Canada, Redbook, Huffington Post, People Magazine, US Weekly, Parents, Ellen Degeneres Show, Instagram