Hilary Duff is opening up about the deeply personal inspiration behind her new music and it starts with family.
In a new cover story with Glamour, the 38-year-old singer and actress spoke candidly about the “complicated” dynamics within her family, revealing that her upcoming album “luck… or something” reflects strained relationships with her sister Haylie Duff and father Robert Duff.
Duff said she felt ready to share this chapter of her life after years of keeping parts of it private. “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 outlet. “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.”
She added, “I’ve had a very complicated life, and my parents had a very complicated thing. I know it’s not rare… I guess I just felt ready.”
A Song That Has Fans Talking About Haylie
One of the album’s most talked-about tracks, “We Don’t Talk,” appears to reference a rift with her older sister Haylie. In the song, Duff describes the breakdown of their relationship as an “emotional eviction” and sings about growing up in “the same home, the same blood,” lyrics that many fans believe point directly to Haylie.
Duff has not explicitly confirmed the song is about her sister. Still, speculation intensified after she performed the track during her recent Small Rooms, Big Nerves concerts, according to People. The sisters have not been publicly photographed together since 2019 and appear to have little interaction online, per the Daily Mail.
The apparent distance comes as a surprise to longtime fans who remember when the duo frequently collaborated. Hilary and Haylie famously recorded a cover of The Go-Go’s “Our Lips Are Sealed” for “A Cinderella Story” in 2004 and later teamed up again for a cover of Madonna’s “Material Girl” for the “Material Girls” soundtrack.
Now, Duff’s lyrics suggest a relationship that has shifted over time. The tone of “We Don’t Talk” feels reflective rather than accusatory, with lines that hint at both confusion and longing.
Addressing Her Father and a ‘Complicated’ Upbringing
Duff also appears to address her relationship with her father on the track “The Optimist,” singing, “I wish I could sleep on planes and that my father would really love me.”
Her parents’ divorce was widely publicized, and Robert Duff was arrested in 2008 for contempt of court during the proceedings after allegedly selling family assets without court permission. He later admitted to being unfaithful during his marriage in a 2008 interview with Inside Edition.
Duff previously referenced her parents’ split on her 2007 album “Dignity,” but this new project marks her first album in more than a decade and her most direct reflection on family, according to People.
Ultimately, Duff said writing about these relationships was unavoidable if she wanted to be honest in her music.
“If I’m not willing to be real at this stage in my career, what’s the point?” she told Glamour.
