Ashley Tisdale's Exposé: Meet the Members of Her 'Toxic' and 'Mean' Mom Group — Including Hilary Duff and Samii Ryan

Ashley Tisdale revealed the real reason she left her mom group.

In a scathing essay for The Cut, the High School Musical alum disclosed she left her mom group, which she described as a "toxic" and "mean."

"To be clear, I never considered the moms to be bad people. (Maybe one.)," she wrote, in part. "But I do think our group dynamic stopped being healthy and positive — for me anyway."

While she did not name any members of the mom friend group, the circle includes Hilary Duff, Mandy Moore and Samii Ryan.

Scroll down to learn more about the friend group Tisdale referenced in her viral piece.

Pilates by Amanda founder Amanda Kaplan is part of the mom group. She runs a private Instagram profile but also maintains a separate, public page where she shares her painting and ceramic pieces.

Tisdale still follows Kaplan on Instagram after the essay was published.

Based on her October 2025 post, Gaby Dalkin is part of the mom friend circle Tisdale exposed in her essay.

"We're not regular moms, we're cool moms," she wrote on social media. "Nothing better than a getaway with zero responsibilities, great friends, all the food and ALL the mahj."

The mom-of-two does not appear on Tisdale's following list on Instagram.

Although Haylee Davidowitz also has a private Instagram page, she often appears in social media updates shared by the other moms.

Tisdale continues to follow her on the platform after the essay was shared.

Duff runs in the same mom circle mentioned in Tisdale's essay.

Both Duff and Tisdale showed off their friendship on Instagram in recent years, but eagle-eyed fans noticed they were no longer following each other on the platform.

In a January 6 Instagram Story, Duff's husband, Matthew Koma, hit back at The Suite Life of Zack & Cody star's essay by sharing a photo of himself photoshopped onto Tisdale's body. The update also has The Cut's logo and a fictional headline that read, "When You're The Most Self Obsessed Tone Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers."

Koma added the sub-headline: "A Mom Group Tell All Through A Father's Eyes."

Meanwhile, a representative for Tisdale denied the rumors she targeted certain celebrities or personalities in the piece. They added the essay took on a life of its own when the internet took her words out of context.

MUU founder Janice Gott is connected to the mom group. She previously uploaded photos from their fall getaway, which did not feature Tisdale.

"Mommies said BRB!" she shared in October 2025.

Tisdale continues to follow her on Instagram.

Tisdale's following list still has makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan, who famously does A-list stars' makeup looks.

Another famous star in the alleged "toxic" and "mean" friend group, Moore once shared how their friendship began.

"We had babies at the same time," she told InStyle in a May 2022 interview. "And [Hilary], being the supermom that she is, formed a cool mom club. Somehow, I got invited into it, and it's the best."

Tisdale does not follow Moore on Instagram.

Meghan Trainor has been part of the mom group since 2021.

The "All About That Bass" hitmaker once gushed about her friends on Instagram, writing, "I have mom friends🥹 and I love them💖."

In January 2025, she beamed about the "great" group chat she has with the other moms.

Trainor remains on Tisdale's following list after the essay was published.

After the essay went viral, Ryan dropped a cryptic post while branding Megan Thee Stallion's "Her" as her "2026 mood."

She mouthed the lines, "I don't care if these b------ don't like me, 'cause, like, I'm pretty as f--- / Just the other day, I heard a ho say / Matter of fact, what could a ho say? With a face like this and a b---- this paid, s---, what could a ho say?"

Tisdale does not follow Ryan on Instagram.

Content creator Whitney Wagner Hartley is one of the moms in the group.

In October 2025, she heaped praise on her inner circle following their Ojai vacation.

"Leveling up but it's really just making sure you're surrounding yourself with people you'd trust to only say good things behind your back 🚀thank you @theroblar for the most necessary 24 hrs, ily," she wrote.

She is not on Tisdale's following list as of press time.