toxic

MOM-OF-TWO Ashley Tisdale shocked fans when she dragged a long-simmering feud back into the spotlight after calling out her former “mean girl” A-list pals, Hilary Duff and Mandy Moore.

These Mom wars have been erupting on both sides of the pond for years, whether it’s Love Island’s Molly-Mae feuding with mommy bloggers or sister rivalry between Kourtney and Kim Kardashian in Hollywood.

With bitter fallouts to ruthless mom-shaming, these celebrity parents have taken their battles far beyond the playground.

From an A-lister blocked on a Whatsapp group to ‘hippy parent’ shaming, here’s an inside look into showbiz’s biggest ‘toxic mom’ feuds.

Ashley vs “Mean Girl” Moms

High School Musical alum Ashley Tisdale caused controversy when she revealed that she was dumped by her A-list mom friends, calling them out for their “mean girl” behaviour.

Ashley is mom to daughters Jupiter and Emerson with husband Chris French but went viral this month thanks to her scathing words about the group.

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Ashley, published an op-ed entitled You’re Allowed To Leave Your Mom Group, in which she explained how she took a stand after “being left out from yet another group hang.”

While she didn’t name people, it was well known she hung out with a group that included Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor and Hilary Duff and described the group as leaving her “feeling hurt, drained or left out.”

Now she does not follow some of her former pals on Instagram, sparking more speculation of a feud, and wrote in the publication how the final straw came when she was excluded from a series of events.

She put: “During the early days of the group, there was another mom who often wasn’t included.

“I’d picked up on hints of a weird dynamic, but at the time, I didn’t dwell on it too much. I was just so happy to have found these incredible, smart, funny women. Now it seemed that this group had a pattern of leaving someone out. And that someone had become me.”

Ferne and Sam’s epic spat

Former best pals Ferne McCann and Sam Faiers fell out in 2022 after Ferne branded Sam a “fat c***” in a leaked voicenote.

The warring mums had been friends for 20 years and appeared on reality show The Only Way Is Essex, with the two ending up becoming ‘sworn enemies’.

After the incident Ferne apologised saying her comments were “manipulated, edited and taken entirely out of context”.

The two reality titans have their own family shows on the same broadcaster ITV.

Ferne’s First Time Mum and Sam’s The Family Diaries both aired on ITVbe and when it comes to awards shows the pair even have to be separated.

During the National Television Awards, a source revealed: “It was a logistical nightmare because despite working for the same channel, ITV had to keep them apart and they couldn’t be placed into the same hospitality boxes.

“It was more than a little bit awkward.”

Myleene vs Frankie and Rochelle

Saturdays singer Frankie Bridge, 36, has been at the centre of decade long feud with fellow presenter Myleene Klass, 47, as well as having a strained relationship with ITV regular and her bandmate Rochelle Humes.

It was revealed that whilst working on the set of Loose Women, Myleene and Frankie avoid each other in the corridors at ITV and one frosty reunion was captured on camera when Frankie and Myleene made a very rare appearance together.

Myleene used to be mates with The Saturdays singers but their friendship ended when she split from her ex husband Graham Quinn.

Frankie and Rochelle worked with Quinn when he was their bodyguard during their pop star days, and the girl band stars remained friends with him.

The moms were all once close, with Loose Women hosts Myleene and Frankie attending Rochelle’s hen do back in 2012.

In 2013, soon after Myleene’s divorce from Quinn, guests at the Glamour Women of the Year awards saw her storm over to Frankie after believing she had been blanked.

At the time a source said: “Myleene seemed to take that as Frankie taking sides with Graham because of their working relationship.”

WhatsApp drama

It seems there’s always something going on in the Kardashian household- and both Kim and Khloe have previously accused sister Kourtney of “mom-shaming” them, calling her “judgemental.”

But things really became bitter between the siblings when Kim admitted Kourtney had been blocked of a Whatsapp group.

During the Season 4 premiere of The Kardashians on Hulu, Kim claimed during an argument that all of Kourtney’s friends had been complaining about her behaviour in a group chat labelled “Not Kourtney”.

On her Instagram Kourtney was quick to clear up the rumours after a fan responded underneath one of her posts, they penned: “Are those friends on the ‘not Kourtney groupchat’ cause if so we don’t need them there.”

She swiftly replied: “No the members of that chat are namely Kim, Khloe, Kendall and Kylie. Case closed,” with a detective emoji.

Fans were stunned by the accusation that the group chat in question was made up of just family members, with hundreds replying and liking her response.

Molly Mae vs Mom Bloggers

Love Island alum Molly-Mae Hague was caught out by a Mom bloggers this year following alarming ”safeguarding issue” involving her daughter Bambi.

The reality star, 26, has been facing growing criticism over her parenting recently, after the film crew for her documentary had captured her tot using the toilet, although blurred the clip sparked outrage with fellow moms.

One mommy blogger Charlotte Blandford Tagger, took to TikTok to raise her concerns over Bambi featuring in Molly’s vlogs and the latest celeb documentary.

Charlotte said in her video: ”Molly-Mae asking Bambi to pull her pants down, get her bare bottom out, go for a wee in front of a camera crew – and then broadcast it to millions of people.

”We’re just skimming past the fact that someone has videoed her daughter’s private parts, had that on their camera roll.

”They’ve sat with a few people in the gallery, edited that and thought, ‘Perfect, that is great’,” said the furious parent.

A source revealed to the Mirror that Molly was shocked by the reaction, they said they shared that backlash hit the star particularly hard because Bambi’s welfare is and always will be her number one priority. Confessing “she’s had a real shock with this backlash.” 

They added: “She really trusts her filming team but I think she’s realising that there’s more to a reality show than just filming random scenes from your day. Viewers expect more, and of course they’re going to critique every scene.”

Battle of the mom-preneurs

Hollywood stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Alba had mutual friends which saw them float around the same circles, but their rival businesses seemed to have caused friction between the two working ‘mompreneurs’

Their feud kicked off just over a decade ago, when on Gwyneth’s website Goop she dropped a scathing review about one of Jessica’s skincare products, from her business The Honest Company.

“Many of the ‘clean’ products I proudly use (and have even touted on goop) have turned out to be a product of marketing, rather than actually safe,” she said, grading it a C.

A year prior, Jessica had her own harsh words for the rival mom when whilst promoting her book The Honest Life: Living Naturally and True to You she was asked if she was inspired by Gwyneth.

She replied: “Gwyneth Paltrow probably lives a very similar lifestyle, but I didn’t grow up with a bunch of money, so my tips are much more grounded: repurposing things and making things at home.”

Alicia slammed over ‘Hippy Parenting’

It’s been long known that actress Alicia Silverstone’s ‘hippy parenting’ habits have caused controversy – especially in the Hollywood mom circles.

The first notion of her unique parenting was noted in her 2015 book The Kind Mama, in which she claimed ‘postpartum depression is caused by eating processed sugars’ and said ‘allowing your baby to sleep in its own crib is neglectful.’

Not only this, but the star revealed that she believed that some children are “never the same” after they get vaccines.

She then made herself the subject of even more criticism when a resurfaced video showed hergiving her son pre-chewed food from her own mouth, a ritual known as ‘bird-feeding’.

She then sent fans into a frenzy whilst discussing her “approach to motherhood” during a chat on the Ellen Fisher Podcast, in which she revealed that she still co-sleeps with her 11-year-old son.

“… Bear and I still sleep together,” and later added, “I’ll be in trouble for saying that, but I don’t really care.”

Her parenting methods have sparked fears she could be isolating herself within Hollywood mom circles, with the likes of fellow mother and TV host Whoopi Goldberg reacting to the clip on US daytime show The View, saying: “I don’t know any 11-year-old that wants to sleep with me.”

Tellingly, Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik was the only celeb mothers to defend Alicia, giving credence to her parenting techniques in a lengthy article.

Mayim said : “Let’s reserve judgment for people who beat their children, sell their daughters into prostitution, or deny women the right to make decisions about their bodies and their lives.”

There are some things that make a person happy they’re not a millennial mom. Ashley Tisdale’s mommy group drama is one of those things.

Because Tisdale — now Ashley Tisdale French — sounds like she might be stuck in her own “High School Musical,” and it looks as if Hilary Duff’s husband just threw a stink bomb under the bleachers.

Adding to the drama: Duff and Mandy Moore are rumored to be part of the group, though Tisdale French has annoyingly refused to name names.

“Since becoming a public figure as a teenager, it’s often the thing I least expect that people most want to talk about,” the former child star wrote in an essay for New York Magazine that echoes what she wrote a while back on her own blog. “Sometimes, I’ll say something offhandedly, only to see it turn into a headline or start a conversation on TikTok.”

Bottom line, per the essay, is that Tisdale French — who married composer Christopher French in 2014 — was pregnant during the pandemic. She missed out on baby showers and prenatal yoga classes and handing her newborn baby off to acquaintances. Then a friend brought together a group of new moms.

“[F]inally, we were able to be together, and our kids were able to be together, and it all felt right,” she wrote.

The founder of the Being Frenshe line of personal care products thought she had joined a group of cool kids who did cool things.

“I felt energized by being around women who understood the challenge of feeding a baby while taking a Zoom call.”

She literally called them cool.

“[I]t made me hopeful about finding the balance between fulfilling work and family life, since all these cool women were able to do it. Maybe we’d be able to share our secrets to success.”

Then social media burst her bubble.

“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.”

She wrote that she realized her mommy group was just like high school.

“Even though it had been decades since tenth grade, the experience of being left out felt so similar.”

But now she was a grown-up, so she took a stand.

“So that’s exactly what I texted to the group after being left out from yet another group hang: ‘This is too high school for me and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.’”

People didn’t react well, she said. One mommy sent flowers, then didn’t acknowledge her thank-you. Another was like, “You weren’t invited? I thought you were.”

Keep in mind, this is part of a series titled “It’s Been a Year,” which includes essays about a woman learning via DNA test results that she wasn’t the person she thought she was and one from actor Rebecca Gayheart about going through estranged husband Eric Dane’s ALS diagnosis and subsequent care.

Then again, it also includes a Kathy Griffin essay about post-divorce dating at age 65 that includes some serious name-dropping — “It wasn’t my idea; it was all Sia and our friend Nia Vardalos’s fault. We were at Sia’s house, just being silly girls, when they dared me to do it.” — and a detailed discussion of condoms.

But back to Tisdale French.

“Why me? The truth is, I don’t know and I probably never will. What I do know is that it took me back to an unpleasant but familiar feeling I thought I’d left behind years ago.”

She was more specific about what happened in her older blog post, by the way.

“I realized that there were group text chains that didn’t include everyone, which led to cliques forming within the larger group. And after the third or fourth time of seeing social media photos of everyone else at a hangout that I didn’t get invited to, it felt like I wasn’t really part of the group after all.”

She also shared a revelation with her blog readers.

“If a mom group consistently leaves you feeling hurt, drained, or left out, it’s not the mom group for you. (Even if it used to be!) It’s no longer serving you in a way that lifts you up, and you don’t have to stay out of obligation or anything else.”

We will never know how far into either essay Hilary Duff’s husband got. We do know that Matthew Koma didn’t hesitate to pull out the Burn Book.

Koma got riled up enough over it that on Instagram, he mimicked Tisdale French’s repost of New York Magazine’s promotional post about the essay, slapping a picture of his own face over hers and changing the headline from “Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group” to his own: “When You’re The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers,” with “A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father’s Eyes” as a sub-headline.

Alas, he posted it as an Instagram story, now expired, so we can imagine it only with the help of outlets such as People, which for the longest while has been writing about Reddit AITAH posts and the subsequent comments telling the original poster whether they are indeed the jerk in a particular situation. (Not that any jerks are being discussed here.)

Tisdale French doesn’t name names in her essay, but Koma’s reaction seems to indicate that former child star Duff, 38, might have been one of the allegedly mean moms who was definitely not being named. And Duff and Koma hosted former child star Moore, 41, and her family after last year’s Eaton fire in Altadena, when Moore’s home burned down, so some might bet on Moore also being among the mothers of small children in former child star Tisdale French’s group.

Tisdale French, meanwhile, apparently anticipated this kind of speculation in reaction to the New York essay because she had experienced it after blogging about the same topic. And apparently it’s all wrong, wrong, wrong.

“It’s a subject that has made women DM me to say ‘I feel seen’ and to share their most emotional stories with me,” she wrote for the magazine.

“It has also made wannabe online sleuths try to do some investigating like they’re on ‘CSI’ (please, don’t even try — whatever you think is true isn’t even close).”

Cool? Uncool? Christopher French, Ashley’s husband, may have made his own decision on that already.

“Underrated life skill,” French wrote on Wednesday morning in an Instagram story, quoting author and mindfulness coach Cory Allen. “Pausing to decide if it’s worth your energy.”

ANNOUNCING the arrival of her baby daughter, Bianca Wallace told how she and her movie star husband Ioan Gruffudd were ‘totally smitten’ with their ‘tiny little angel’.

But while fans were quick to congratulate the 33-year-old aspiring actress and her famous beau, Sun Showbiz can reveal the arrival of Mila Mae Gruffudd ushers in a painful new chapter for Ioan’s ex-wife.

For Alice Evans and her Welsh actor ex, who are parents to older daughters Ella, 15 and Elsie, 11, have been embroiled in one of Hollywood’s nastiest break-ups since they split back in January 2021, and according to our well-placed source, she remains in no mood to back down.

Ioan was well on his way to becoming a major star by the time he had met his first wife, with roles in the blockbuster film Titanic and the Emmy award-winning series Hornblower under his belt.

By the mid 2000s, his career had been sent stratospheric by the Marvel movies Fantastic Four and its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. 

The couple easily slotted into the A-lister lifestyle of Hollywood, with their impressive LA family pad coming complete with lush gardens, an idyllic pool and a huge entertaining space.

But in January 2021, Alice’s world fell apart when her husband told her he was leaving.

The Brit certainly didn’t take the news lying down, famously alleging in now-deleted tweets that she was being ‘gaslit and mentally tortured’ by Ioan. 

She shared: “My beloved husband/ soulmate of 20 years, Ioan Gruffudd, has announced he is to leave his family, starting next week.

“Me and our young daughters are very confused and sad.

“We haven’t been given a reason except that he ‘no longer loves me’.”

The fallout was spectacular – Ioan filed for divorce two months later, and his estranged wife went on the warpath on social media, leading to countless public accusations flying back and forth.

The actor secured a restraining order against Alice, citing harassment, in 2022 and in August 2023, a month after their divorce was granted, accused her of ‘child abuse’ after their eldest daughter filed for a restraining order against him.

She hit back, claiming her ex had not seen or called their girls for 11 weeks. 

Aussie Bianca, who at 33 is 18 years younger than Ioan, looked to be at the heart of much of Alice’s distress.

The couple are believed to have met in Australia in 2020 when Ioan was filming the TV series Harrow, with Bianca an extra on the show.

They confirmed their relationship in October 2021 with Alice immediately, very publicly, accusing them of having an affair, an accusation Bianca branded ‘disgusting and vile’. 

Engaged by January 2024, Ioan and Bianca, who insist their relationship started after he split from Alice, married this April and on November 2, their daughter was born. 

“Alice will not hate the new baby – she is the most loving woman and best mother there can be,” said our source.

“She is angry at Ioan and Bianca but not at the new baby. 

“But she will not have her daughter’s feelings discarded or replaced when the new baby arrives. How dare he! 

“She’s also desperately sad that it appears her daughters won’t be close to their new sister due to his cruel actions.”  

‘Friends fear deeply for her’

Alice, 57, was a successful actress when she met Ioan on the set of 102 Dalmatians back in 2000.

The stars played love interests Chloe and Kevin in the movie, and their off-screen chemistry was so sizzling that the former model broke off her engagement to another man, Pablo Picasso’s grandson, Olivier.

Alice wore a white strapless gown when she tied the knot with Ioan on a beach in Mexico in 2007, surrounded by red roses, but today, her fairytale wedding seems a lifetime ago as she embarks on a painful new chapter.

Alice has been trying to balance dignity with desperation.

A source close to the star said: “News of Ioan’s growing family appears to have reopened old wounds while forcing her to confront a future that looks very different from the one she once imagined.”

“Pals say Alice is in deep emotional and financial turmoil; she is a mix of emotions.

“Friends deeply fear for her.”

While Alice and Ioan have been divorced for two years, a row over child and spousal support has continued to rage, with our source describing the former couple’s legal battles as ‘exhausting’ and ‘relentless’.

They also look to have been taking a considerable financial toll on both parties. 

In June 2022, Alice launched a GoFundMe page asking for help with her legal bills and in November 2023, she claimed she could not afford to pay rent or buy food, saying she was considering trying for a job at Starbucks but feared she was too old. 

“Alice has been trying to balance dignity with desperation,” said a Sun Showbiz insider.

‘Her priority is her children and ensuring they are safe and secure, but she is struggling to shield them from the reality of their situation, provide some sense of normality amongst the chaos and drama and protect them from emotional harm because she can’t provide a stable home for them without his support. 

“She will not back down and will fight him for every penny until her girls get what they deserve.” 

In a legal filing earlier this year, Ioan accused Alice of writing a devastating text message that looked to be sent by Ella.

“You left us and now you can’t provide for us,” it read.

“You need to get a job daddy.

“Looking after your girlfriend is not a job.

“You are a father who has abandoned his children and doesn’t see them or talk to them.

“You don’t even send Christmas presents.

“It’s pathetic and everyone sees you.

“Ps if there is enough money for us never to become homeless then why aren’t you helping us out?

“You hate mummy more than you love us.”

Despite the fears for her well-being and despite her hardship and the criticism aimed at her, Alice has reassured pals she is determined to keep going for her daughters.

Today, Alice has custody of their two children, and the trio live in a modest home in Encino in the San Fernando Valley after they left their Beverly Hills apartment when she was unable to pay the rent. 

The actress claims the existing payments she receives from Ioan, of $3,000 a month in child support and $1,500 a month in spousal support, are not enough, while the actor is trying to reduce his obligations, saying he cannot afford them. 

‘She won’t let him destroy her’

With both sides pleading poverty, it is hoped a mediation settlement conference held next month will break the deadlock, but it won’t be easy. 

“Despite the fears for her well-being and despite her hardship and the criticism aimed at her, Alice has reassured pals she is determined to keep going for her daughters,” said our source. 

“She has described the situation recently as ‘torture’, but she won’t let him destroy her – as much as he tries.” 

Besotted Bianca shared her baby news with a sweet image of her kissing Ioan in hospital, saying that the couple were ‘totally in love’ with their daughter.

But as Ioan celebrates the joyful new addition to his family, friends of his ex-wife grow increasingly concerned. 

In another cruel blow, Alice lost her beloved brother Tony, who had been a loyal supporter since the disintegration of her marriage, in August.  

A Sun Showbiz insider added: “As the legal battle continues and he moves forward with a happy, new chapter of his life, pals close to Alice fear she is stuck in a painful place trying to rebuild, trying to be heard, and, most of all, trying to hold her family together.

“Most of all, the pals worry how this will all end.”