Earlier this week, Ashley Tisdale wrote about leaving her “toxic” mom group, whose members included Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor, and several other non-famous women. After years of being a part of group hangs, Ashley wrote that she was bewildered to discover that she was suddenly being left out of things. She eventually decided to stand up for herself by texting everyone, “This is too high school for me and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.” Internet sleuths speculated that reasons for the rift included Ashley not checking in on her friends who were affected by the LA fires and her tribute to Charlie Kirk.
Whether or not she intended to, Ashley also opened the floodgates for the other women to get their side of the story out there. On Wednesday, Hilary’s husband, Matthew Koma, shaded Ashley on Instagram, calling her “the most self obsessed tone deaf person on Earth.” Petty? Yes. Justified? A Page Six source seems to think so. According to that source, Ashley’s break with the group was pretty much inevitable.
A source familiar with the spat insisted to Page Six: “Matthew gave her what she had coming.” The source further said of Tisdale, “she’s insufferable,” adding that the friend breakup, “has been a long time coming.”
Tisdale kicked off 2026 by blasting her former mom group as “toxic” in a candid essay penned for New York Magazine’s The Cut. In the piece, Tisdale claimed she was iced out of the cliquey group’s events. The former Disney star further reflected on, “not being cool enough” for the group’s other members, and “sitting alone one night after getting [her] daughter to bed … feeling totally lost as to what [she] was doing ‘wrong’ to be left out.”
She ended up texting the group, she wrote: “This is too high school for me and I don’t want to take part in it anymore.”
Ouch. It sounds like there was a lot of tension between Ashley and the rest of the women for a while but neither side wanted to confront one another. Although she did not outwardly condone Matthew’s comments, Mandy Moore posted an Instagram story that praised him for how he and Hilary took her family in after their house burned down last year. Another source, however, was a little bit more diplomatic about the whole situation, telling People that the group drifted apart because they had different values.
“It was a misalignment of values that Ashley decided to make public,” a source close to the group tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Friends naturally drift apart. It didn’t warrant a dramatic breakup text.”
A second source says Tisdale French had been feeling a “disconnect” with the group in the months before she left.
Like most things, the truth is likely somewhere in the middle and involves both sides wanting to avoid a potentially dramatic confrontation. No one wants to be the bitch that tells someone they don’t want to hang out anymore, so it’s easier to just stop talking to them. On the flip side, Ashley probably was hurt when she realized she was being left out of things, which is valid. While I agree with her message about standing up for yourself and cutting out people who are wronging you, telling the world personal details about a rift between you and your famous friends is not the right way to go.
Finally, Meghan Trainor, who may or may not be involved, put herself into the official narrative on Wednesday. She referenced the drama by posting a video on Tiktok of her at the computer set to her song, “Still Don’t Care.” It was captioned, “me finding out about the apparent mom group drama.” I have no idea if she’s taking a side or sending a message that she’s also not in the group anymore, but if I were her, I’d sit this one out. Don’t wade into a mess if you’re still dry.
Meghan Trainor responds to the “toxic mom group” drama. pic.twitter.com/08QA5QaEw9
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) January 8, 2026
I relate so much to this story. My group also broke up with friends who didn’t align with our values. I also suspect that my former friends weren’t self aware enough to realize why the rest of the group wanted nothing to do with them after the former friends loudly declared ´we should just push the refugees back in the sea and drown them.´
Team toxic moms all the way- exit quietly and slowly with as much grace a possible.
Omg that’s terrible.
People change, I changed too, in my early 20’s I learned not to care about what people thought about me, in my 40’s this is even truer and I refuse to waste my precious time and peace for people that dont really care, are just saying hi to get some gossip etc. I’m not gonna be confrontational about it, but I am letting those relationships die out quietly without culpability. Im keeping family and those I believe at this point are true friends close only, but still wish everyone the best.
“It was a misalignment of values that Ashley decided to make public”
I said yesterday it’s probably as simple as she’s right wing.*shrug* I’ve known people who grew up steeped in RW ideology and they truly don’t seem to understand why we all can’t just get along and put politics aside for the sake of a friendship. People like her genuinely underestimate how fucking angry and enraged people on the left are for having this mess foisted upon us.
I had a very close childhood friend–we were born in the same hospital on the same day–who I cut out of my life last time Trump was in office. She married a Trumpster who works in government and campaigned for Ted Cruz. She also worked in politics and was a loyal Dem. I saw her changing–dramatically so–because of him and I just couldn’t take it anymore. Recently, I saw her commenting on a mutual friend’s post and out of curiosity, clicked on her profile. She had the image of Trump with his raised fist as a profile pic and a MAHA thing with RFK Jr. All this is to say, while it was painful and difficult to cut her off, I definitely made the right decision for me.
Yes Kitten! Cutting MAGA out of my life (even family who are MAGA) was the best thing I ever did for my own mental health. And if anyone texted me a tribute to Charlie Kirk it’s be the last they’d ever hear from me. Seriously GTFOH with that garbage.
Do I miss them? No. MAGA are MAGA for a reason. They relate to Trump because they are bullies themselves. They love this quiet Piggy stuff. They pretend to be above it but they are shitty people just like him. When I examine their behaviour (which got worse after MAGA) they were always toxic, not nice people, I just tolerated them cause “they’re old” “they’re family” “they’re just a contrarian it’s not personal” or whatever. January 6th was the final straw for me and that was the final cut for the remaining assholes.
What’s crazy is when you clear that space and say I’m done you make way for wonderful people to show up in your life and they have! I love my friends and the family that I do interact with – those people align with my values. We don’t have to agree on everything but my humanity is not up for debate. Politics isn’t a sport where their team won and owned the libs this week. And so on. MAGA is exhausting, they cannot think for themselves and parrot the Russian bot and idiot red pill podcaster talking points. They are told what to think and then they think it. They’re in a cult and there’s no line their orange god can cross that will make them reconsider.
So well-said, @Side Eye–alllll of this. There really is a feeling of taking out the trash.
I felt validated when I saw she had gone full MAGA because it eliminated any doubts I had about abruptly cutting her off without waiting to see if she was going to have a change of heart and realize the guy she married is a bad person. Turns out, she’s just like him.
It feels great to be surrounded by empathetic people who share my values and you’re right that I might not have made space for these friendships if I had clung to this one out of nostalgia or loyalty or whatever. I mourned the person she used to be years ago so I had closure in that sense.
I love everything you just said! The feeling of taking out the trash is amazing. It’s like a Spring cleaning for your life and then all the flowers bloom. And you’re right there’s nothing like being surrounded by empathetic people.
Glad you got some closure on it. That Ashley never checked on her friends during the fires tells me everything I need to know about her – that’s right in keeping with MAGA – it’s not a problem unless it happens to me then I expect everyone to be 100% focused on it. They’re following a malignant narcissist for a reason. And when I’m in the wrong it’s all about my perceived victimhood.
I’ve dealt with MAGA for years I know their playbook. I could teach a class on their gaslighting and their abusive tactics. Terrible people whose entire identity is built on the lie that they are inherently superior to brown skinned people. When they are confronted with evidence it’s a lie they freak out and diligently work towards rigging the rules to ensure they are on that 80 yard line when that starter gun goes off while everyone else is still in the locker room. I don’t know a single MAGA that is a good person. A good person wouldn’t excuse pedophiles, sexual assault, the kidnapping of anyone, torture, an insurrection, and bullying. I could go on.
@Kitten, yes, I am always floored by RW folks who see their views as just a difference of political opinions that shouldn’t prevent friendships, etc.
Sorry, when your views are that some people should not be allowed to exist just because you don’t like them, and you/the people you voted for are actively trying to harm or exterminate those people, it’s not “just a difference of political opinions.”
That mom group sounds like a kindergarden
Middle school.
Their mom group put out the MAGA trash, and like most right wing nut jobs, she ran around looking for someone willing to drink a big old mug of white woman tears, and found the idiots at The Cut ready and willing.
When I first heard about this drama last year, I didn’t read into it but felt sorry for Ashley. But hearing she paid tribute to Kirk … all of those women were justified in not wanting to be friends with her. I’m sure they like her kids and maintained a relationship for the children.
Ashley is MAGA so I have zero sympathy for her.
This all the way. She’s lucky they were just ghosting her and not dragging her hate filled ass all over the internet.
I am not a fan but she isn’t MAGA. Her husband is SUPER vocal on Facebook and posts all the time about the atrocities the Trump administration is doing. (I was bored at lunch yesterday and researched this. Lol)
If she’s not, what’s with the Charlie Kirk thing? Admittedly I haven’t clicked the link to that story because I don’t want to give if traffic.
By going public Ashley is looking for support from those whoalign with per “values”.
Yes, she’s trying to damage them and summon the orcs.
Must be nice if this is the biggest problem you have in 2026!!!
Right? Also a little pathetic if this is the only way Ashley is able to get a headline these days.
You are correct that this is a BS story whilest the world is being destroyed by old white men, BUT we do need to address how the magat loving cultists are dealt with socially. Do you want them in your orbit, especially in group that involves your children, repeating magat bullshit to gradually recruit your children Turning Point-style? The magat nutters leak and their identity is tied to homophobia, racism, sexism, and being all around nasty to anyone not a mediocre white man. This story does speak to white privilege (I have not seen a pic of the group that included anyone not white), but it also speaks how do you cope with the mango, kirk loving anti-science loons in your orbit. A lot of us have been reluctant to cut them out of our lives because we could not believe the transformation in our formerly lovely family/friends and believed we could somehow snap them out of it. They have gone down a rabbithole, are awful people to support the magat agenda and we don’t need them recruiting in our orbits.
Thank you for saying this. MAGA cannot be around my child. I don’t care if you’re family. And I no longer let just anyone into my house.
@TN, setting aside all of your other important points, just the fact that the Republican party in general has always been steeped in pedophilia scandals at an alarming rate (disproportionate to general public and/or to Dems), and MAGA has made themselves the party of pedophilia by electing a likely child rapist (and self-avowed sexual predator and convicted rapist) president and by going to extraordinary lengths – shutting down the government, canceling SNAP, invading a sovereign nation – all to distract from the Epstein files so they can protect pedophiles in power.
So all of your points are correct and important, but even on a most basic, primary level, exposing one’s children to people who think this way increases the risk that they will be abused.
(It’s not a bug, it’s an inherent feature of a worldview that prioritizes violent domination and demonizes, objectifies and suppresses women and anyone who doesn’t conform to their racial and gender ideology)
Anyone wanting to cut ties with MAGA and keep their children safe from them should do so guilt-free – they don’t owe any explanations.
Haven’t we all been on one or both sides of this at one time.
Whether a person you really liked after a while stops making or keeping plans you have with them. It sucks.
But we’ve been on the other side too, someone who just kills the vibe, or after finding her kind and lovely, you see how she treats other people, how she treats the waiter or someone else in the service industry.
Rude to the waiter is a deal breaker for me.
And i also didn’t sit with her to explain it, as everything i had learned about her- good and bad, included the fact that she is not one for self reflection.
All of this sucks. But i’m not sure either side has to be “toxic” for this to be an issue.
Rude to service workers is a deal-breaker for me, too. And yeah, we’ve all been ghosted or have done the ghosting.
But if someone’s MAGA, it’s not just a matter of political disagreement. It’s a matter of core values.
One “friend’ casually let me know, over lunch, that she didn’t like my husband. Dealbreaker!
OMG, how rude.
The story I got is that Ashley Tisdale is Maga and the others aren’t. Right now, I don’t blame the friend group if this is true, I would not want to be around hateful , insufferable, victim mentality and low IQ having, Maga folks now. You have to pick a side.
There are people in my old high school friend group who are MAGA who cut ME off first for calling out Trump, and I was like, cool bye!
So basically, she actually is Sharpay.
Her politics aside (for the record I think they are awful) she didn’t check on her friends after the fires? That’s a crappy friend right there.
But is Ashley MAGA? Her actual Charlie Kirke tweet didn’t read that way to me. Calling it a “tribute” implies something else. (Not the brightest msg, but not MAGA either. Yes, my excuse for her might be “she’s not MAGA, just dumb”.) And I thought she volunteered for democrats? It reads to me — and I could be corrected here — that the friend group wasn’t keen on her and even organised a get together that did not include her *while at HER child’s party, right in front of her*. That is pretty rude. I think the friend group is suggesting she is right wing so they look better.
Hillary and her sis Haylee (sp?) don’t speak anymore bc their husbands don’t like each other, so she might have a history of drama. I don’t know the specifics, maybe Haylee’s husband really is a d and suggesting Hillary is a drama magnet is unfair.
Ashley should have quietly exited the group and considered herself lucky to move on to healthier friendships. Without the f—ing matching outfits. Jeez.
Sha denies being MAGA or a Republican but who wouldn’t in her position? MAGA mindset is a minority in the entertainment industry and I’m sure most entertainers aren’t interested in being pariahs.
Anyway, even if we give her the benefit of the doubt I find it interesting that her entire IG is non-political but she felt the need to stick her neck out for one of the most vile, controversial political figures of our time. She hasn’t bothered to say a word about Renee Nicole Good and how “violence is never the answer” or really any other horrific example of gun violence, state-sanctioned murder, etc. Just interesting how she picks and chooses….
My husband has a Magat cousin who he cut out of his life and it has been a huge relief to both of us. For years he was constantly enraged by texts from this man, who admires Trump and all he represents. He kept answering the texts and arguing with his cousin, just positive that someday the cousin would wake up and change. But this past year my husband couldn’t take it anymore. Our lives are so much more peaceful now.
Some of the pics seem to have Emily Favreau in them. She is the wife of one of the Obama pod bros. I can see how one of the members posting Charlie Kirk tributes wouldn’t go over well in that group. I think it’s in poor taste to make the drift public. It’s ok for people to drift apart and stop being friends.
I don’t blame them. She sounds awful. And as a Black woman I wish more white women would stop this we can agree to disagree crap with people who are racists. You don’t have to be polite or friendly to these people. I had a straight up MAGA friend who I cut off (was in her wedding) and last year she sent me a Christmas card, tossed it into the trash and didn’t read it and made sure she was still blocked on social media.
Adult relationships change and end all of the time. Turning her situation into a blind item and publishing it (!!!) was definitely a tactic to get attention and publicity. It was intended to put the Mom group on blast. Just for that, I have to question anything Ashley says.
ITA. Adult friendships change. Sometimes they get more distant, sometimes they fade out completely. It can suck, but it’s part of life. Most of the time, both sides let it go. There’s no need for some big declaration.
In terms of one side being very right-wing (or having very different politics) … I have a friend who is and we don’t talk about politics.
Meghan ” fuck teachers” Trainor sucks.
Ashley isn’t use to dealing with not being the center of the universe. She was invited to the bday party but didn’t like where they sat her. She was in the group chat but nothing came up about her inviting them and them not coming. She also said that she wasn’t invited to an outing but didnt say who put the gathering together and who invited who only that people weren’t making it a point to ask why she wasn’t at something she clearly was not invited to attend. That is life and adult friendships. She sounds exhausting and very self absorbed.
The events of this week should make it abundantly clear that MAGA is a lying, racist, low-IQ cult. If I had those people in my life, I sure as hell would not want them or their children around my children.