Why Hilary Duff Hopes It's 'Comforting' for Her 4 Children to Bond with Famous Mom Friends' Families (Exclusive)

12/23/2024 03:59 PM

Duff opens up to PEOPLE about her celeb-filled friend group of moms — which includes Meghan Trainor, Ashley Tisdale and Mandy Moore

Hilary Duff is thankful for her tight-knit group of friends.

The singer and actress, 37, who's currently partnering with Meta to promote the company's AI software, is opening up about what it's like to have a solid crew of fellow famous moms around, like Meghan Trainor, Ashley Tisdale and Mandy Moore, to lean on "all the time" for support.

Duff tells PEOPLE she sees her mom friends about "two to three times a week" for various activities with their kids. The "With Love" musician shares daughters Banks, 6, Mae, 3, and Townes, born in May, with husband Matthew Koma, while she's also mom to son Luca, 12.

Related: Mandy Moore Says She's 'Grateful' to Be Part of Hilary Duff's 'Cool Mom Club': 'It's Incredible'

Having such a close friend group helps the How I Met Your Father star in various situations — including her family's recent bout with the flu at Thanksgiving. "It was actually one of the hardest moments of my life," she says, "and I was on the chat thread just ranting and raving, and they're all just really supportive."

What keeps the friends so close? "I feel like our big connection to one another, even though we're pop stars or on TV, is we love our kids," explains Duff. "They were little baby worms when we all first got together and started music class at my house. Now, we're in art class together, and we're in gymnastics class together, and we're just, like, moms."

"Everybody's super hardworking," she adds. "Sometimes we're all showing up with hair and makeup rushing from a job, and sometimes we look like literal trash, so it's just nice to be in the trenches with them."

Related: Hilary Duff Says 7-Month Old Daughter Townes Is Her 'Chillest' Baby — and Reveals How She's Become a Calmer Mom (Exclusive)

Beyond leaning on friends in her own life, Duff thinks about the fact that her children have the benefit of growing up alongside the kids of Trainor, Moore, Tisdale and the other moms in their group — many of whom have a lot in common.

"I actually really wonder if, when the kids are older, they're all still going to be friends, and if it's going to be helpful having friends [whose] parents are somewhat in the public eye," she says.

"With Luca sometimes that was weird, or could be still weird. I think he's navigating it pretty well, but it's just a strange thing," continues Duff. "I wonder if Mae-Mae growing up with kids that have other parents like that is doing to be comforting in a way... Time will tell."