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Ashley Tisdale, pictured at the premiere of Wicked in Los Angeles in 2024, said her mom group hurt her feelings by excluding her from hangouts that they then broadcast all over Instagram. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Ashley Tisdale’s breakup with her famous mom group struck a nerve. But the real problem is that grown women are still forming cliques at all.
By Dana Schuster
01.09.26 — Culture and Ideas
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On January 1, Ashley Tisdale, of High School Musical fame, wrote an essay in New York magazine about breaking up with her toxic mom group. These were friends once so inseparable they wore matching white sweatsuits with the word “mother” emblazoned on the thigh.

Tisdale said the group—which includes Mandy Moore, Meghan Trainor, and Hilary Duff—hurt her feelings by excluding her from hangouts that they then broadcast all over Instagram.

“All of a sudden, I was in high school again, feeling totally lost as to what I was doing ‘wrong’ to be left out,” Tisdale wrote.

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Dana Schuster
Dana Schuster is the features editor of The Free Press.
Tags:
Friendship
Community
Family
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