Hilary Duff's husband, Matthew Koma, hit back at Ashley Tisdale online after she published an explosive essay sharing details of the 'toxic mom group' she was once a member of, which included the Lizzie McGuire star.
In Ashley's essay for The Cut, titled 'Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group', the actress revealed that the mother's group she was part of began to leave her out of events and meet-ups, leading to her eventual departure. Other celebrity mothers involved in the group include Mandy Moore and Meghan Trainor.
Matthew, who has been married to Hilary for five years, took to Instagram in response to Ashley's essay with a spoof that saw the musician with his face photoshopped onto the mother of two's body. In the original photo, Ashley sat on a lounge with one leg crossed over the other and her hand on her face, while sporting an all-black outfit.
The 38-year-old then photoshopped a fake headline that read: "When You're The Most Self-Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers," alongside the subheading: "A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father's Eyes."
See below for a glimpse into Hilary's life as a mom...
"Read my new interview with @TheCut," Matthew captioned the post. He shares kids Banks, seven, Mae, four and Townes, 20 months, with Hilary. She is also a mom to 13-year-old Luca, whom she welcomed with her ex-husband, Mike Comrie.
Ashley claimed in her essay, which was published on January 1, that the mom group had grown toxic and the women had taken to leaving her out of events. "I remember being left out of a couple of group hangs, and I knew about them because Instagram made sure it fed me every single photo and Instagram Story," the High School Musical alum wrote.
"I was starting to feel frozen out of the group, noticing every way that they seemed to exclude me…I told myself it was all in my head, and it wasn't a big deal. And yet, I could sense a growing distance between me and the other members of the group, who seemed to not even care that I wasn't around much."
Ashley added that she texted the group announcing her decision to leave, writing: "This is too high school for me and I don't want to take part in it anymore." She then clarified in the essay: "To be clear, I have never considered the moms to be bad people (maybe one). But I do think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive – for me anyway."
"If a mom group consistently leaves you feeling hurt, drained, or left out, it’s not the mom group for you," the blonde beauty declared. "Choosing to step away doesn't make you mean or judgmental. It makes you honest with yourself. It's also worth remembering that friendships, like all relationships, have seasons."
After the essay went viral, Ashley's rep clarified to TMZ that she was not referring to Hilary, Mandy or Meghan when she wrote about the group's "toxic" behavior. The star did, however, unfollow both Hilary and Mandy on Instagram prior to the essay's publication.