Hilary Duff has described the loneliness she’s feeling due to her estrangement from her older sister, Haylie Duff.
During an appearance on Friday’s episode of CBS Mornings, the 38-year-old singer was asked about fans’ speculation that her new song, “We Don’t Talk,” is about her rift with her sister.
“It’s definitely about my sister and just absolutely the most lonely part of my existence is not having my sister in my life at the moment,” she told host Anthony Mason about the tune from her new album, Luck…or Something.
“I really struggled with thinking about including that on the record. It’s funny, as a person that exists in the world without my other half, so many people are having this experience.”
Hilary also explained why she chose to include that song on the album, noting that it’s her “truth.” However, she hasn’t publicly disclosed why she and her sister aren’t speaking.
“For me, making a record was just going to be all about connection. I was never going to take outside songs from people because what would the point be, right, if it wasn’t me and it wasn’t my life?” the Lizzie McGuire alum added.
She also addressed the impact of growing up in the spotlight after rising to fame on Disney Channel in the early 2000s.
“I didn’t necessarily choose that part, but it’s my reality, and so it was honestly like healing to say,” she continued. “It’s hard to watch your life unfold on the internet sometimes with talking heads on TikTok speculating this, that, and the other.”
When Mason asked Hilary if she hoped Haylie heard the song, she said she didn’t think “that would help.”
“I think I have to just exist as a person on my own and do what I want to do,” she responded. “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.”
In the song “We Don’t Talk,” Hilary — who hasn’t been photographed publicly with her sister since 2019 — sings about a relationship with a family member ending.
“’Cause we come from the same home, the same blood,” she sings. “A different combination, but the same lock / People ask me how you’re doing, I wanna say amazing / But the truth is that I don’t know / What I always end up saying is / How we don’t talk, we don’t talk, talk about it / We don’t talk about anything anymore.”
During an interview with Glamour, published earlier this week, Hilary appeared to address her strained relationships with her sister and their father, Robert. On her new album, Hilary also wrote a song about her father, “The Optimist,” with lyrics about her wish for her father to “really love” her.
“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,” she told the publication. “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.”