Ashley Tisdale Details Exit from Mom Group in Essay

Actress Ashley Tisdale detailed her decision to leave a group of fellow mothers in an essay published by The Cut on January 1, prompting speculation about celebrity friendships and a satirical response from musician Matthew Koma, husband of actress Hilary Duff.

In the piece, titled "Breaking Up With My Toxic Mom Group," Tisdale, 40, described initially finding a supportive circle of women during her pregnancies amid the coronavirus pandemic. She shared two daughters, Jupiter, 4, and Emerson, 15 months, with husband Christopher French. Over time, however, Tisdale wrote that she began feeling excluded. "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 recounted. At one dinner party, she noted being seated at the end of the table, far from the others, which made her sense a growing distance.

Tisdale recalled recognizing a pattern of exclusion, similar to what another early member had experienced. "Now it seemed that this group had a pattern of leaving someone out. And that someone had become me," she wrote. Unsure why she was targeted, she texted the group after another...