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Lewis Howes
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Hilary Duff
Everybody has their reasons and relationships are difficult, especially with your family. Especially as painful as it feels to share. When I decided to make this record, I could only talk about the things that I've gone through.
Host/Announcer
Hey everyone.
Lewis Howes
Welcome back to On Purpose, the place you come to become happier, healthier and more healed. Today's guest is someone that we have been excited for such a long time. The energy in the studio has been electric for her arrival and I'm not being hyperbolic or overhyping. I really, really mean it. I'm speaking today to the one and only Hilary Duff, actress, singer, author and entrepreneur whose career has grown up alongside an entire generation that I seem to have in my office. First known to many as Lizzie McGuire, she's continued to evolve as an artist and storyteller balancing creativity, family and reinvention. Hillary is now entering a new chapter with her sixth studio album, Luck or something. Her first full length release in over a Decade, out February 20, 2026. And you can see her on her Lucky Me tour world tour kicking off this June. Do not miss out. We'll put the link to the tickets in the bio. Thank you so much. Hilary Duff. Welcome to Purpose.
Hilary Duff
I'm so excited to be here. Thank you.
Host/Announcer
We are very excited.
Lewis Howes
I cannot tell you. I want to tell you because it's so important. I woke up this morning and everyone was like, you know this is our super bowl, right? And I was like, what?
Host/Announcer
Like, I was trying to figure out
Lewis Howes
what in the day. And they're like, yeah, Hillary Duff is coming to. Like, that was the reaction.
Host/Announcer
Like, people are like, this is our Super Bowl.
Lewis Howes
Forget this weekend. No one cares. That's so sweet. Like, the excitement in the house and everyone, everyone wants pictures. Everyone has asked my permission. I was like, I will ask Hillary.
Host/Announcer
I usually don't allow, you know, it's just.
Lewis Howes
But the energy around the excitement that you bring to. I mean, how does that feel? Because you've done it for so long, but you still bring this, like, really electric energy to everyone who's a fan of yours and has been for so long.
Hilary Duff
I swear to God, I'm not trying to do an album plug right now, but I just feel lucky. I feel like whatever reason my purpose is to be here is like to connect with people. And I've had the joy of being able to do it for 20 plus years. And some of that's felt high and some of that's felt low, but I genuinely feel like people are excited to, like, meet me and say hi and like, have a quick moment. And it just feels like it feels normal. Like it feels really, like genuine always. And I'm always met with that. And it's a really, you know, I'm not saying it's not a big responsibility sometimes, but, you know, being. Being met with, like, excitement and, and someone being like, you've meant so much to me. It's. It's a lovely feeling.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, no, it's definitely there. I've got. People have got stories of coming to your tours at 13 years old and saying ridiculous things to you, like in my team and meeting you for a few moments and just having the best experiences. But I was thinking, yeah, you've meant this for 25 years. You've been so many things to so many people through the characters you've played the music of Course. Now, your new album. What's the version of Hilary Duff that you want people to meet now at this point in your life?
Hilary Duff
Part of the reason this return to music is feeling so good to me is just that it feels completely rooted in my truth and who I am and what I live with. And introducing people to my past 10 years and knowing that we are gonna connect on many levels of experiences and feelings and disappointments and celebrations and, like, everything in between. So that's kind of what I want them to know about me now and who I want them to meet. Like, they have known me my whole life. I have, you know, played a character that never grew up on tv. You know, she stayed that same age. And not that I feel that that's, like, the public consensus around me anymore. I think people are pretty familiar, familiarized with me and who I am, but I care a lot less. And I feel like truth is more important than, like, politeness and all of. All of that. So that's what the record feels like to me, and that's kind of just how I feel comfortable moving through the world, you know, I don't know if that's just with age or being a mom of four or being in a settled relationship or being in the industry for as long as I have with many ups and downs.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, it's. I feel like people are getting to meet a mature, real version of you and one that is very accepting and embracing of this amazing journey you've had, which is so beautiful. I think as humans, we tend to have this perspective of, like, well, now I am who I am, and I've, like, given up everything. And I feel like you have this beautiful way of being. Like, I love those experiences, and they mean so much to me. And now everyone gets to come on the journey with me.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
At least what I'm hearing.
Hilary Duff
I think that's true. I think that's absolutely true. And I get to, like, keep the pieces that still work for me and, you know, obviously continue to grow. But I, like, move with, like, a confidence and, like, a knowing that just occurred, you know, also. Also compiled with, like, a messy insecurity. And all of those things are just, like, what makes up the feeling, accepting of all the things that come our way and that, like, we discovered on. On our path.
Lewis Howes
You know, I'm always fascinated by, especially for people who've been in the public eye for so long, like, the experiences that they had that we were less aware of. And I wanted to ask you, what's a childhood experience you have that you feel defines who you are today.
Hilary Duff
This is so random, but like, just like a huge standout memory for me. And my childhood is like catching tadpoles in tic Tac boxes in New Braunfels in Texas. And it was something that we did after school like almost every day. It's a huge part of me feeling like I have my feet on the ground constantly. Even in this, you know, kind of out of body experience of a career that I've had and like navigated through. I think like being from Texas and being so normal and kind of grubby and dirty, like, is a part of my personality that has helped me just be that and not be kind of what can happen, you know, with 25 years in the industry.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, yeah. That's almost what's helped you stay grounded.
Hilary Duff
I think some of those, like, early childhood memories of having like a lot of like freedom and I really never thought that I'd raise my kids in la and we're having a great time, but, you know, I grew up very different than this and I'm happy to have those roots.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. I'm gonna come to you for all the tips. I have some of my.
Hilary Duff
I'm still figuring it out, but I do know a lot.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. I will say that I have some of my favorite people who grew up here. Like, I have a couple of people on my team who obviously I'm born and raised in London and I only moved to LA eight years ago, but I have a couple of members of my team that were like born and raised in LA and like went to all the school and they're just like phenomenal human beings.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Just like the sweet salt of the earth humans. And it's, it's such a wonderful thing to kind of redefine what it means
Hilary Duff
to be like an LA person.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Or like. Yeah, like you said of someone who's been in the industry for 25 years.
Hilary Duff
Right.
Lewis Howes
Have you, did you ever think about
Host/Announcer
that along the way?
Lewis Howes
Like on the journey of like, what am I holding onto and what am I losing or what am I keeping? Did you have to think about those things?
Hilary Duff
You lose anonymity, you know, like, I've completely lost that. I've lived, you know, pretty much in the public eye since I was 10. And probably around 15 was when I feel like the world started getting very like, interested in what I was wearing, who I was dating, what I was eating, where I was. Like, that was an interesting kind of thing to navigate where I feel like I lost Some serious innocence, you know, where you're just like, oh, my God. And then you get a lot of people constantly talking about your life and seeing it on the COVID of magazines and all of that stuff. Like, that was a really strange period to also be, like, forming as a person privately. And some of those, like, lines get blurred where you're like, I'm. I am this, but I am this. And I. You know, I think I've lost a lot, and I think I've gained a lot. Like, I wouldn't change it, but I've become very tough. Like, it's. It's not a. It's not an easy. It's not an easy industry, and I think it's not very easy for other people to deal with you in this industry.
Lewis Howes
What do you mean by that part?
Hilary Duff
I think it looks very, like, shiny. And for other people to cope with how it looks is a tricky thing to navigate.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Was there a time when everything felt like it was a dream from the outside? Like, you're saying shiny, but for you, you were having to really grapple with some stuff behind the scenes through all
Hilary Duff
of it, you know? Yeah. Navigating people is, like, tricky, and that's not. It wasn't, like, all negative. I think I had, like, a great time being a child actor. I had a great time, like, turning into a pop star. Like. But it is not easy behind the scenes. And there's so much that goes on and ways that you feel out of control. And now, you know, I have my own life and my family and my family that I've created. And it's really nice to have that pillar.
Lewis Howes
Yeah.
Hilary Duff
Because all the other stuff, now, this is, like, fun. This. I mean, no, it is hard work. And to be honest, my friend, one of my friends is Meghan Trainor, and she texts me the other day, and she's like, I just want you to know you have made this look seamless. And I'm so impressed, but I know that it's hard as hell. I honestly was like, thank you so much for saying that. I've had the stomach flu. I, like, flew all my kids out because I missed my family so much. But, like, they all have, like, coughs and stuffy noses, and I have to, like, sing on stage at night, and we got trapped because of weather. And then all my gear and my crew and my, like, it's just all so crazy. But I think that this time around, I get to pick how much crazy I can tolerate.
Lewis Howes
It's probably more comforting to hear that someone sees the hardship. Then you make it look easy. Yeah, it's almost like hearing make it look easy. You're like, oh. But you know, on the inside, it's never that. And it's almost like the easier it looks, the harder it must be. You are reminding me of. I listened to this TED talk years ago and it was this model. I forget her last name, but her name's Cameron something. And the TED talk is called Looks aren't everything. Trust me, I'm a model. And it's this really.
Hilary Duff
Oh, wow, what a great title.
Lewis Howes
Fascinating. And she's, she's a brilliant speaker and she really, she talks about kind of what you were just saying, like, so she shows images of what modeling she was doing and then she tells us what age she was and shows us a real picture of that time. And obviously models are different because like with you, people are seeing all of your life in one sense. With a model, you're only seeing the picture of them on a campaign. And at that time, we weren't really following models on social media or wherever else. And so she shows like this, a picture of me at 14, like smiling with her parents. And then this is a picture of me at 14 modeling. And she's like romantically posing with this guy. And she's talking about how much of a disconnect there was between her real life and the life that as a model she was portraying.
Hilary Duff
Right. Also, when you're a model, you don't get to be like, I'm not really comfortable wearing that. I don't really want to do that pose. You're a model. Right. So they're like, no, we're hiring you to. This is what we wanted. And then. Right. It's a little different to be like an actor who's posing in a photo shoot.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, yeah. That direction of, of just not having agency, not having choice, especially at that age. And I was thinking about, for you, you've talked very openly about the eating disorders you had and just like what that looked like and how, you know, at the time so many people were pit against each other and the culture was different. Hopefully it's different. You can tell me if it is. But that's what it felt like at the time. What was it like for you to get comfortable being comfortable in your own skin? Like, like, what did that take? Like today you're saying, like, you know,
Host/Announcer
it's not easy, it's still hard work,
Lewis Howes
but I'm kind of in control, I'm in charge.
Host/Announcer
Like, I feel better. But talk to me about Some of
Lewis Howes
the stops on that journey and what that looks like for so many people who may not grow up in the public eye but also deal with the same challenges.
Hilary Duff
I feel like I've actually always had quite a bit of like, self confidence and a good, this is such, such a lame term, like a good head on my shoulders. Yeah, no, but I, I, I have, I, you know, I, in my friend groups when I was a teenager, I was like, pretty confident but like also mixed with the insecurities of like your teenhood and your, your 20s or your early 20s. Like, of course those normal things came up. And then on top of it, I was dealing with like, yes, people commenting on my body at a young age and starting to get photographed and people like asking you how many times you weigh yourself or comparing you to people that were thinner than you or other girls, you know, in your, like, line of work. And I definitely struggled for a little while there, just trying to fit a certain mold and have control over something in my life. Thankfully that was like pretty short lived, but definitely toyed with it during a time of like, I'm on tour, I'm filming a movie, I'm do, you know, like a lot of moving parts to my life and just trying to also like, form as a, as a person. Honestly, I think it took just time and bigger things happening in my life that, like having children that took the spot of the other things that didn't mean as much to worry about. And luckily those things felt easy to me to replace. I think having success at such a young age makes making like work choices a little harder because there's like a pressure of a level of success. And I think once I did have kids and you know, my phone wasn't ringing as much and I wasn't able to show up to work as much and say yes as often. I ended up just saying no a whole bunch and not being worried about, like sitting still. And a lot of great things came from that decision and a lot of confidence came from that decision. A lot of my steadiness has come from being in such a stable relationship that's helped me a whole bunch get through some pretty heavy themes in my life.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, I'm excited to hear about that more especially after what you told me earlier. But where did that early confidence come from? That good head on your shoulders? And I, and I love that. And I think so many. And the reason I ask is there are so many young people who listen to our show or young parents with young kids who want their kids to have that good head on their shoulders and have that confidence. Where did that come from for you and how were you able to hold on to it?
Hilary Duff
Effy, I think a part of it is who you are, and then I think a whole bunch of it is your influence around you, you know? And I. I had a mom who was very supportive of a dream, you know, and she made me take it seriously because it was a big change for our life to, like, leave Texas and come to la, but she also didn't. Our, like, livelihood wasn't weighted on whether or not I booked a job or not, you know, And I think that I found confidence in work and working, you know, but I think it was a little more weighted. But, like, when I see my son play a really good soccer game, I see his confidence building. And when I see, you know, he is the captain of his football team at his school. Sorry, soccer team at his school, and he.
Lewis Howes
You can say that here.
Hilary Duff
You're like, you had it right, the first one.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. I was like, yeah, we don't need to edit it. Sorry. I had to. I'm sorry.
Hilary Duff
He. I see his confidence build when I. You know, so I. I think it was just that, like, mine happened to be acting, but those things were confidence builders at times. They were confident strippers. I had a lovely support system, and I also got to be a kid. Like, that wasn't all taken away. I had, like, normal friends, and I felt the highs and lows of friendship and being confident, not confident, and dating and all of that stuff. I don't know. I think some. Some of it you're born with, and some of it is like, what is what you're surrounded by and what you. What's modeled for you.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, we. We were talking about this a bit earlier off camera, but I was saying that, like, I feel like, a lot of confidence. I. When I was a kid came from the fact that I always knew my mom would catch me if I was to fall. So it didn't come from feeling like I would never fall because I had challenges and got bullied or different things would happen anyway. Right. As it does in any kid's life.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
But I always knew my mom would catch me. And that was like, such. And even as a grown man today, I'm like, I know if I called my mom, she would still catch me today, like, after all those years. And it does build such a sense of confidence. And then I think the other side of what you're saying, which I appreciate, which I think we're finally realizing, is that confidence does come from competence. It comes from doing hard things and putting yourself out there and taking action. And for you, as acting for your son, it's playing soccer and those steps and seeing yourself go out there and play a game. There's confidence that comes from building a skill or building competence. That it doesn't come from just sitting there and thinking about it or, you know, hoping that you naturally feel that way, because people may not be born that way.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
And so both of those ideas resonate.
Hilary Duff
Matt and I talk about this with the kids all the time, and it could be as simple as, like, them going and making their own water instead of just being like, I'm thirsty. And we're like, oh, let me do it for you. You know, like, sometimes we do. Of course, we. We like our kids to. We like to take care of our kids, but, you know, we have the conversation a lot that's like, the more they. They do, the more they can do, and the more you can do, the better you feel about yourself, you know? So just being. Trying to hold them accountable, to be competent for their level is something that I feel like, helps form your confidence.
Lewis Howes
Yes.
Hilary Duff
And, like, will make us feel okay about sending them off into the world at some point.
Lewis Howes
I remember, I'm not recommending this, and I'm not condoning this at all. I just remember I had friends who were parents, and they had this particular methodology that they were training their kids with, but we were sitting on one side of a table and hanging out, and their child was, like, playing with a candle on the other side. And my natural instinct. I don't have kids. My natural instinct was to go take the kid away from the candle because obviously there's fire and the natural instinct. And they were like, no, no, no. Just leave it. Like, they're just playing and figuring it out. And I was like, wow. Like, that's really bold.
Hilary Duff
You're like, hope, she's wearing a ponytail.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, exactly. I was like, wow. Like, you know, and her hair was very short that she did it. She hadn't grown her out, but she was like 2 years old or something.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
Or maybe 3. And I was just like, yeah, it's not. Again, not recommending, not condoning, not. Not saying that's good thing. I'm just saying that there is something to be said for being competent at your age and your level of experience and providing that to your children. It feels like you're. What you've been saying about your relationship right now. You've said it a few times, like, it's built such a foundation for you to go through so much. What is it that creates a foundation of strength and peace in a relationship for you? From your experience,
Hilary Duff
could talk about this for hours.
Lewis Howes
That's a good thing, right?
Hilary Duff
I think it is time and just getting to the place where you can be in the trenches with someone and they can know everything and accept everything and help you move through things in the best way. I mean, for me, I think Matt and I, I always loved hanging out with him. I loved. He made me laugh like crazy. Like he was such a. He just kept showing up for me over and over again. And I think coming out of, you know, being divorced and being a young mom and having a lot of stuff happen in my family life, I think I was just like not ready for super health yet. And someone who was like, totally nice to me and wanted to like have like a healthy relationship and, and, and just like keep showing up, I guess. And so it took us a little while to. It took me a little while to just like, I think, accept something good. And it wasn't until we had banks, which is our seven year old, that I feel like I really like, could settle in to the relationship. When I realized, like the kind of parents we were and how we were doing as parents together, I really remember, like, just feeling like my shoulders could be like. And it was really, like really a nice weight off. And then like our relationship from there continued to just be like emotional shelter, you know, instead of dramatic, like craving those younger, dramatic highs and lows and just feeling better in the like, steady, which also comes with challenges. And I talk about those challenges a lot on luck or something. It's nice to be where we are right now and know that some of those highs and lows feel like a snapshot of a timeframe instead of a continual struggle.
Host/Announcer
You know, I love what you said
Lewis Howes
about that feeling that I think we all go through when you find your person. I've been with my wife for 13 years now, married for 10.
Hilary Duff
Congrats.
Lewis Howes
Thank you. And yeah, it's our time, 10th wedding anniversary this year and so amazing, really exciting to celebrate. But like, when I think about it that way, it's like, it's. I love what you said about this point, that when you first meet someone who actually loves you and is kind
Hilary Duff
to you and it's really hard to accept.
Lewis Howes
It's really hard to accept, both based on how others have treated us and how we've treated ourselves. I feel like it's a mix of both of those Experiences.
Hilary Duff
I agree with that.
Lewis Howes
Right. Like, it's almost like you're wrestling with it.
Host/Announcer
I don't know.
Lewis Howes
Is that how I felt before in the past? Is that how you describe it? How would you describe it?
Hilary Duff
Yeah. And you want to, like, poke holes in it to make sure it's, like, steady enough, you know, that's what I felt like I was doing. I think it added an extra pressure that I had a child already and, like, I didn't want to expose him to something that wasn't, like, for sure going to stick and work out for me. Yeah. I mean, I'm just feel so settled in a good way. Like, so happy that I. I'm like, God, your intuition works. And it's good because it is. Really. It is. To commit your life to someone is a very big choice.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. It's only after you do it and you spend a few years together, you realize how big it is.
Host/Announcer
Right.
Lewis Howes
Like, I was. Like, when I made that commitment, I actually don't think I had a clue what that commitment meant.
Hilary Duff
Right.
Lewis Howes
And then years later, you're like, oh, okay, now I'm actually living that commitment.
Hilary Duff
Yes.
Lewis Howes
When I made it that day, on my wedding day, it was kind of just like. Like, it was. It felt natural, it felt real. But, yeah, I almost hadn't really experienced what it meant to say that, if that makes any sense.
Hilary Duff
How old were you when you got married?
Lewis Howes
We were. I was 28 and my wife was 25. And so.
Hilary Duff
So pretty young.
Host/Announcer
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Pretty.
Hilary Duff
I wonder if it's like that by design.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. What do you mean?
Hilary Duff
Like, because marriage is, like, so hard and it's such a big choice that I wonder if you do it, like, at a slightly younger stage of your life, or else you wouldn't do it because it's such, like, a crazy.
Lewis Howes
That's a good fight.
Hilary Duff
It's such a crazy thing to. To commit.
Lewis Howes
It is. It is.
Host/Announcer
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
Me and my wife have talked about that before.
Host/Announcer
I feel like it was older compared
Lewis Howes
to people we knew back in London. Yeah, we got married late.
Hilary Duff
Oh, you did?
Lewis Howes
Compared to a lot of our friends who got married very early.
Hilary Duff
Then you guys moved to la and you're like, oh, no one's married.
Host/Announcer
Exactly.
Lewis Howes
Then we moved here.
Host/Announcer
Like, oh, wait, there's no rules. This is great.
Lewis Howes
Like, you know, we've got friends, like, marrying at 40, having kids at 40, like, no one cares.
Host/Announcer
And it was nice.
Lewis Howes
It was refreshing, actually, from coming from a culture where people were getting married at 22, 23, 24, 25, and being able to have that, have that space and. But we've talked about that many times where we're like, oh my gosh, we've grown so much. And my wife especially, she feels like she's been so many different versions of herself in the last 13 years that
Hilary Duff
it's amazing and speaks volumes of your relationship that she could be so many versions of herself in a marriage. Do you know what I mean? Like, take on. You said lots of different versions of herself. It's very hard to grow. I think a lot of the growth that I did outside of motherhood happened before I was in a relationship or in between being in a relationship, which is like kind of just being alone with yourself.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, right. So basically you're saying that I must be amazing.
Hilary Duff
Amazing.
Lewis Howes
I'm so patient.
Hilary Duff
That's correct.
Lewis Howes
So flexible and like, I didn't want
Hilary Duff
to like, pump the ego.
Lewis Howes
Thank you.
Hilary Duff
But that was, that was what I was getting at.
Host/Announcer
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
My wife's just so lucky that I've
Host/Announcer
been like so patient.
Lewis Howes
It's been the other way around on many, many occasions, but marriage is so hard.
Hilary Duff
Foreign.
Host/Announcer
Hey, it's me, Jay. And I just wanted to share this one phone call I had with a friend. It was when I just made one of the biggest decisions in my career and I was nervous about how it would be received. Then my friend called me out of the blue just to check in. And hearing their voice, their encouragement, completely changed my perspective. That moment reminded me how powerful a simple connection can be be. And did you know that 2026 will mark 150 years since the first phone call, March 10, 1876. From that one call, it all grew. The first long distance lines, the first call across America, the first across the Atlantic, the first commercial cell service, even the first 911 system. AT&T has been connecting people in so many ways for 150 years. I can't help but wonder how many lives were changed, how many important conversations happened, even how many lives were saved, all because people could reach each other. 150 years of connecting. That's not just history. That's a reminder. When technology brings people together, we can do incredible things.
Hilary Duff
Connecting changes everything. AT&T,
Host/Announcer
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Lewis Howes
It is so hard to grow with someone. It is so hard to continue to grow. It's so hard to grow at a different pace. It's so hard to grow at opposite paces. Sometimes it feels like and yeah, what. What would you say you the biggest lessons you took away from your first marriage that really have helped you in that healing transition.
Hilary Duff
I don't love to talk about this too much, um, because you know, I felt like in that time of my life I was so ready to get married. I was in something that I really adored. I was ready to have a baby. I was ready to have something of my Own, you know, that I could just like, focus on and it be mine. And like, my life felt out of my hands a little bit at that moment, and I just wanted to, like, shrink it. I've been pretty open about, you know, being a divorced person and what that's like and being a single mom and being, you know, kind of like choosing to like, end a family is a huge horrible choice to make. But I also co parent that with. With that person. And we do a great job. Mostly. Sometimes there's bumps and frustrations, but again, ebbs and flows. Right. But like, we adore this person that we created and we do a great job. This is like before, you know, conscious uncoupling was like a coined a term and we really tried to do that. I really tried to do that. Like, you just grow.
Lewis Howes
Yeah.
Hilary Duff
And I think I did.
Lewis Howes
You. You strike me as someone who, like, follows your intuition. You even said it earlier when you were talking about your current relationship. You're like, I'm so glad my intuition was right.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
And then I was like, and the album's called Luck or something. And so I wanted to ask you what's. What's the relationship between intuition and luck? And has your career and journey and even this inspiration behind this album, how much of it has been luck and how much of it's been intuition?
Hilary Duff
I think a lot of it has been intuition. And I think that's falls under the category of the or something part of it, where I'm like, actually, I deserve some credit here. I feel incredibly lucky. I don't know why me, but I do know that I've also worked really hard, and I know that I've had to go through a lot. The title is pretty loaded and can mean a whole. And does mean a whole bunch of different things to me, like what I just said. But also it's a coy way of, like, responding to a question I'm constantly asked, which is like, how are you so normal? How did you get through this? And I'm like, luck or something.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, got it. Yeah.
Hilary Duff
But I think the. The or something is the real weighted portion.
Lewis Howes
It's good when you think you're lucky and everyone else realizes it was hard work. It's kind of what I think is, like, the accurate assessment anyone that I know that I believe has achieved something amazing. And when I say achieve something amazing, I think it's. It could be being grounded in a difficult industry. It could be something athletically successful, like whatever you define as greatness or success or winning. It's the problem becomes when everyone else views it as lucky and, you know, you view it as hard work. And it's, like, beautiful when, like you said, I see myself as lucky. Like, I don't know, why me? Like, that's beautiful. And then if. If we can. But it's always the other way around. It's almost like, yeah, people like to think. I got asked that the other day. I was asked, someone's asking me in an interview, like, why do you think people listen to you and why do they connect with you? And I was like, to be honest, I always struggle with that question because I feel really grateful and fortunate that anyone even cares to listen to me. I remember speaking of rooms of, like, three people. And so I feel completely humbled by where it's gone. And then I was like, at the same time, like, I think it's because I've been doing this for a long time. I've done it for longer offline than I have online.
Hilary Duff
Yeah. Honestly, when I zoom out and, like, it would be hard for you to answer this way, but I'm like, probably because you're smart. You know what I mean? Probably because you're smart. Probably because I think that you have a gift and you can connect with people. I feel like I have a similar gift like that. Like, some. For some reason, I resonate with people in a certain way. But, like, you have to take credit for what you build. And you also can feel lucky, and you also can feel immense gratitude and, you know, how did I get here? Feelings. But, like, you're also smart and you're good at what you do.
Lewis Howes
That's very sweet. I appreciate that. I appreciate it coming from you, but
Host/Announcer
I like what you're saying about the
Lewis Howes
idea of all these things can coexist, and that's why I like the luck or something. I think you're so right. Like, we're allowed to feel all of these emotions. Like, there's pride, there's gratitude, there's luck. There's intuition and confusion even still, and all insecurities.
Host/Announcer
Insecurities, insecurities.
Lewis Howes
And. And everything. And it's almost like when we're forced
Host/Announcer
to be like, tell me the one
Lewis Howes
thing that changed your life. And you're like, yeah, yeah. It's like luck or something is the new, new answer. Now that's what I'm going to use every time.
Hilary Duff
You can have it.
Lewis Howes
I'm gonna. Yeah. If I'm gonna use it now, I'm gonna encourage lots of people to use it because. Yeah. And. And I honestly I. We've only met briefly, but, like, the. The impact you've had on people proves that there's so much hard work, so much talent, such a gift, like, so much. You know, because you can't have that, that people grow up watching a lot of people, it doesn't mean that you carry that same impact. So. Same back at you. And it's. Yeah, it's. It's something that's very visceral and in anyone that's followed you for a long time. I wanted to jump into your album because I've been getting to listen to it, which I've really enjoyed, which has been so wonderful for me. And I'm. I'm very deep into. Because I love words and I love spoken word. I love poetry. I love. I. I took out some lyrics that really I felt were beautiful and powerful. So I may read your own lyrics back to you.
Host/Announcer
I can't sing them back to you
Lewis Howes
because I can't sing to save my life, but I may read them back to you. But I wanted to ask you about this one. So you say in your song, weather for tennis, you write or you sing. I'm a seasoned apologist for the people who I love. I'm an amateur psychologist. The key to everyone's handcuffs. Keep the peace. Because I'm a kid of divorce and you're the starter of wars, and there's no winning in yours.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
Where does that show up in your life today? Like, where. Where did that come from? And where does it show up?
Hilary Duff
I think it's talking about being the person who smooths over and makes everything right and extends themselves and continues to show up and try to make things easy for everyone. And you're talking about being in a relationship that is gonna keep playing a game and. And, you know, towards the end of the song, you finally realize, like, I'm going to put an end to this. The message behind it is a feeling that a lot of people can relate to, of just. It's exhausting to. To keep up always being the one to make things right or to carry the burden or to make the call or to stay the bigger person and keeping the peace. Cause you're a kid of divorce is obviously very relatable. People don't need too much explaining on that one. I think it's definitely a role that I play in my life. And Matt had this amazing idea for the song. We started playing tennis together, and I think that it was definitely inspired by just, like the game of tennis and kind of applying it to a relationship. A romantic relationship that's probably not gonna work out.
Lewis Howes
Expand on that further with a tennis analogy for me.
Hilary Duff
The choruses. If it ain't the weather for tennis Then I guess we can argue until dinner time. So it's just kind of about a game being played and a cycle that is constantly like, repeating. Right before we started writing the record together, maybe a year before, I was like, if we're gonna last the long haul, we need sport. We need to learn how to play a sport together. And so we picked up tennis and I also forced him to learn how to ski, which is one of his favorite things to do now. And we love to ski. But I think. I think the chorus was inspired for him because we had started playing the game of tennis.
Lewis Howes
I think you're spot on. I think so many kids can feel like they were the peacemaker in their family. I know plenty of people who've gone to therapy or talked about that with me and this idea of just. They were the one trying to like, calm everyone down. And people have different versions of this. Right. Like you meet comedians who did it through making everyone laugh and then that becomes their journey. And that's a very on the nose example. But that all of us have played some sort of role of being mediators. I. I often feel is that I do what I do today because I mediated my parents marriage growing up. And so I was the kid who is like, at 10 years old, like listening to both sides and helping them connect and trying to find the. The points at which they could relate to each other. And. And I don't regret doing that. I'm actually very happy I did that. It gave me great skills for life.
Hilary Duff
My parents divorced when I was around 18 and I feel like that was a really hard time because I was like, kind of an adult. And then you like have a. You're like, did they just stay together to get us to this point? And now you have guilt that they were like, unhappy or just like so many different things.
Lewis Howes
I gave up being the peacemaker of it when I became around 21. So I remember that time vividly in my life where I was.
Hilary Duff
What did that feel like? Giving that up, Making the choice to be like, I'm not doing that anymore.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, it was tough because there were certain members of my family that felt that I was giving up my responsibility.
Hilary Duff
And you're like, this actually wasn't my job in the first place.
Lewis Howes
Correct. And so. So that was the. I remember that being the tension where I was like, I love my parents. I'm grateful for everything they've given me. I'm really valuable, and I wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't have this situation that I grew up in. But I think now's the time that I've spent however many. Obviously, I didn't start meeting when I was 4 years old, but I've spent, whatever, 10 years of my life trying to figure this out, and I'm not capable. So there's a part of me that felt like a failure. There's part of me that felt like, you know, like that I was right and I was free to give up the media, the peace part that you're talking about. But I think that's what's so interesting, is that I gave up that responsibility at 21, even though I saw the decision at 10. But did you ever get answers to your whys and your questions, or was that something that you kind of found on your own?
Hilary Duff
I think it was really hard for them to, like, be honest with each other, and there was a lot of, like, fighting, and it wasn't. Not like, they could hang out and be in the same room. And so when it came for me getting divorced, I was like, I'm not gonna have that. Yeah, we're gonna be, like, do holidays together as much as we can. And not that it was always easy, but it felt way easier than the alternative.
Lewis Howes
Yeah.
Hilary Duff
You know.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Yeah, for sure.
Hilary Duff
So, Yeah, I don't. I don't. My dad and I don't really have much of a relationship, and we don't speak very often. It's hard because I think there's not a whole bunch of answers, and it's. You kind of hear one side and then try to take from it what you believe, and then, you know, the same on the other. And I, I. It's really. It's really hard. I think if a family breaks apart very dramatically, it's hard to find your way back sometimes. And some people want to and some people don't.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, it's. I feel like as the older you get, you realize you've got to answer the questions yourself and find. You've got to kind of find the full stop by yourself. Kind of like the point that you're making this lyric of just, I've decided I'm not taking on this responsibility. And whatever, in whatever way you played it. Do you.
Host/Announcer
Do you feel.
Lewis Howes
Sometimes. Do you feel free of it, or is it. Is it always, like, something that.
Hilary Duff
No.
Lewis Howes
Once you played that role, you're always kind of conditioned to play that role.
Hilary Duff
I do. I think it's a little bit like muscle memory where you lean on it, and then you have to remember some of the. Through therapy or wherever you find your solace. Like, you have to keep pushing those good habits or good things to say to yourself to cope and make different choices.
Lewis Howes
It's almost like that conditioning pulls you back, and then you've got to find this new thought process. Almost like learning new lines as an actor and going, well, yeah, this is the new life that I want to build. And even what you just said about how you knew that when you went through it, you didn't want to mirror some of those behaviors, and you're like, no, we're going to do. We're going to do holidays together, and we're going to change things, because that is. That must. That is tearing away that muscle memory and going, I'm going to change it.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. There's another amazing lyric that I love that I took apart here. So this one. Okay.
Hilary Duff
Don't tell me what song it's from.
Lewis Howes
Okay.
Hilary Duff
I like to play a game.
Lewis Howes
Oh, okay. Oh, I didn't know we. Okay, fine. All right. If you want to play, we're going to play some games later.
Host/Announcer
Okay.
Lewis Howes
So we're getting. Okay. But you could. I won't tell you what song it's from. Okay. So the first question will be, what song is it from? After I read it.
Hilary Duff
Okay.
Host/Announcer
Okay.
Lewis Howes
I like this. This is good. I should have done it like that. We come from the same home the same blood A different explanation of the same thought People ask if I've seen you and honestly, I hate it because the truth is that I need to. But there's no way to relay it. Not if we don't talk.
Hilary Duff
Yeah. So that's from we don't talk. And this is a hard one for me. This is a really tough one. My sister and I don't speak. And I think in my adulthood, I've come across more and more people that are having this experience. And as painful as it feels to share, when I decided to make this record, I could only talk about the things that I've gone through. Like, there would be no purpose to make a record after 10 years than to be. Than to face, you know, what it's been like. So that's my truth. And I really worked hard to lyrically make sure that I'm just speaking about my experience. You know, it's very hard to be. To be, you know, a person who's, like, had their life exposed in the industry. For 25 years. And we were talking about, you know, that earlier, tiptoeing around kind of what the outcome has been for some of it. But, yeah, that is. It's a very vulnerable song, and it's a very raw part of my existence, and I hope it's not forever, but it's for right now. Sorry.
Lewis Howes
Don't be sorry. There's a tissue there.
Hilary Duff
Thank you. You guys come locked and loaded because this happens.
Lewis Howes
Thank you for being so vulnerable and open with me, because it's. I can't imagine how hard it is.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
And so sorry that you and her are going through that. I'm sure it's hard on you both in different ways.
Hilary Duff
Totally. I agree with that. It's definitely a raw nerve. Everybody has their reasons. And there's. Relationships are difficult, even with your family. Especially with your family.
Lewis Howes
Especially.
Hilary Duff
Yeah. I think it's. It's easier when you aren't connected that way.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. And it seems like you yearn for that relationship back because you say, I need to. Like, it's not. It's not something that you're kind of throwing away or giving up. As you said, there's you. There's a part of you that seems. Hope it changes.
Hilary Duff
That's the person I grew up with, the only one.
Lewis Howes
I really hope she. I really hope she hears the song.
Hilary Duff
You do?
Lewis Howes
Yeah. I hope she hears it, and I hope it's at least the beginning of some way back to whatever it is that's good for both of you and that you both desire, because whatever that looks like, I think that's what's hard with family, is that we assume that good looks like everything's close and everything's perfect. And that's what we think when we're growing up and we get older and we go, oh, wait, it doesn't. It doesn't always look like that you
Hilary Duff
desire, like, in family, like, this picture. And that's not reality. A lot of the times for people.
Lewis Howes
Yeah.
Hilary Duff
And so you're like, you get to a certain age. I mean, I have my own family who is put first no matter what. And I've gotten to make different rules for my family. But, yeah, you. You get to a certain age where you're like, oh, that doesn't feel good, or that's not right, or that's, you know. And it's very hard to think of family in the way that you grow up thinking of family when so much shifts and changes. And I love my family in certain ways, in certain memories, and also, like. Like, huge Struggles have, you know, occurred. And not like putting that one responsibility on anybody involved, you know, assuming some myself. So, you know, it's. It's. It's very complicated.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. I think family is complicated. You're absolutely right. Thank you for being so open and honest. The. You know, to the point that we can tell just how hard this is for you and how heavy it all is. And I'm sure everyone who's listening right now is thinking that. That. God, I know exactly what relationship in my life makes me feel that way, whether it's with a sibling of father, a parent or family member. And so.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Thank you for going there. Gonna do one more. You can guess the song. Do one more lyric.
Hilary Duff
Love it.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, one more lyric.
Hilary Duff
Please don't make me cry.
Lewis Howes
I. I will try.
Host/Announcer
I'm. I hope I'm not making you cry.
Lewis Howes
I would hate to be the one making you cry. That is not my intention whatsoever. And I. And I respect you too much. To you. You tell me how you feel about stuff.
Hilary Duff
Like, there's no.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, this is the last lyric we're doing, so we went. I promise. Okay. What I find fascinating about you is your lyrics are so real and raw and clear, and they are so resonant with. With anyone and everyone who's going through similar things. Through you are, which I think many, many people are. And so often when I read lyrics, they're so metaphorical, but you was, like, poetic but real. And so this one, you can guess this on. So the lyric goes. I wish I could sleep on planes and that my father would really love me. He'd show up on my wedding day and tell my family they're all so lucky. He'd tell me how he wish he stayed and that he never meant to disappoint me, but till then, I'll exist as the optimist.
Hilary Duff
I think more just being very vulnerable and open about what it's like to be in a family that, you know, your parents aren't together and you don't have, you know, relationships with both of your parents. It's devastating. And it feels. I don't. I think it doesn't matter what age you are, you want your parents to feel like they care about you. And. Big portion of my existence hasn't felt like that. I don't know if that's the truth, but that's how it feels. And so that's just what I'm sharing in that song, the Optimist. I love that song so much. I think I live in this world that, like, I'm really happy. I'm really, like, goofy. I'm really silly. A lot of hard things have happened to me. And I think that with the album, I wanted to share that emotional depth and that. That some of that heaviness, but, like, disguised with, you know, a very joyful track. And I think that's like, very much how I like to exist in the world is like this balance of these two things can exist at the same time. And, you know, the record is a pop record. It feels like you want to blast it in your car. At least I do. That's when I knew it was done, you know, but they're like life topics, and life is really challenging, really hard, really tricky to make the right calls and the wrong calls. All. It's all just a process and, like, a very beautiful and messy one. And. And I feel like the record has just so much of that in it, you know, it's like a. Feels like a capture of 10 years of different things flying at you.
Lewis Howes
I know you have this other song that we all love. I'm not reading out any more lyrics. I know you have this other song that we all love, stuff called Mature. I was just thinking as you were saying that, that there's so much maturity in being able to be like, hey, I'm fine, and goofy. And at the same time, there's all this stuff going on and, like. Yeah, and. And I think that's everyone who's growing up with you and is experiencing all of that too. And I feel like only knowing one side, especially through someone that people have followed and continue to follow for so many years. It's. You feel less alone. I feel like people are going to feel less alone when they listen to this album, but in a good way. Not just like in their feels, but, like you said, blasting it out. It's a pop record. Like, I love that juxtaposition of making people feel less alone, but also making them have fun.
Hilary Duff
I love that juxtaposition, too. And I love that word, because playing the few little shows that I played before I go out this summer was such a cool feeling of, like, the audience one is, like, my age, so they're all adults now, and we've grown up together. And it was like, I'm playing these old songs that feel so good to people and hold such a sweet, like, innocent part of their being, you know, some, like, that meant something to them at a very, like, pivotal eight coming of age. And to get to hold that memory for people is such a, like, badge for me. But then also to meet them with, like, the new songs and kind of experiences that life has provided was a really cool experience. To have them sing, like, these songs they had that they have from the record, you know, to sing them and us be adults and be connecting on that level is, like, really, really powerful. So it's like this really cool, floaty feeling of, like, this thing that feels really good that we get to lean on and, like, celebrate from our past. But, you know, be like me too, you know, in the now, like, that
Lewis Howes
says so much about you. Because I think that you saying that I want people to have that experience that meant so much to them. Even though you have transformed, you have grown, you have changed, you have gone through all of this, that just speaks, like, volumes of your character, honestly, because it's. It's. It's so easy for people to want to, like, be like, that was me then.
Host/Announcer
I'm going to leave that behind.
Lewis Howes
This is the new me now. And that's generally what we do as humans. We're like, yeah, that was done, and it was cool. And.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
And it's like, for you to be like, no, I just love doing it because it brings people so much joy, and I get to share this part of them like that juxtaposition truly is. Yeah. I just want to thank you for that because I think it shows just how much you have in your heart of wanting to make people happy and wanting to finding them to have these moments.
Hilary Duff
And I think if. I don't know if it would have been possible for me to do 10 years ago, I don't know why now all of a sudden? I really don't know how to answer what shifted and what made me find such peace with my past. But I'm really proud of it now, and I get to go and celebrate it. And it feels like I get to be a part of it with everybody instead of trying to shy away from it and be like, I'm an adult or I'm changed or I'm different or that's not me anymore, that is a part of me, and it will always be, like, a part of me. And it feels really fun to celebrate that with people that it meant something to.
Host/Announcer
There's something grounding about letting food be an experience instead of a decision to rush through. At Whole Foods Market, that experience often begins by slowing down and noticing the yellow sign, simple reminders that quality food and thoughtful savings can exist together. As the aisles unfold, flavors from different parts of the world naturally spark inspiration. Maybe a Mediterranean inspired pasta night or an easy dinner solved by stopping at the prepared food section for empanadas or burritos. Even snacks can feel intentional. Crunchy plantain tostones, colorful Peruvian potato chips. Foods that feel playful, comforting and deeply rooted in culture. And on the busiest weeks, the frozen isle offers a sense of calm with 365 taquitos, rice, beans and chunky salsas that turn dinner into something effortless, not overwhelming. These moments matter more than they seem because nourishment isn't just about eating. It's about creating space. Space to enjoy the meal without distraction. Space to connect with the people around the table. Space to breathe between every everything else life demands. When food supports life instead of complicating it, that's when it truly serves its purpose. Save on regional flavors at Whole Foods Market. Life doesn't always go the way we plan, and for parents, some days can feel like a constant whirlwind deadlines, homework, errands and everything in between. That's why having a little relief in the chaos makes all the difference. Real life needs real relief. That's why DoorDash is there for whatever you need whenever you need it. There are moments when everything hits at once and the pressure can feel heavy. But being able to hand off even one task, whether it's dinner, supplies or something small that lifts the day, gives you back time, space and energy to focus on what truly matters. Being present and connected with your family. Because life is unpredictable and you don't have to carry it all yourself, sometimes letting a little help in in is exactly what allows you to be fully present. Parents know all too well how crazy life can get. Doordash just helps bring a little order to it. When you think about your day, whether you're running a business or managing a household, so much of what you do depends on staying connected. From work calls and emails to streaming, learning and staying in touch with the people who matter most. Connectivity isn't luxury anymore. Anymore, it's the foundation. That's why fast, reliable Internet makes such a difference. When your connection works seamlessly, you're not distracted by interruptions. You're able to focus on what actually matters. And when support is there when you need it, it creates a sense of trust and stability that allows you to keep moving forward. Spectrum Business understands that no two businesses are the same. They offer Internet advanced, advanced wi fi, phone, TV and mobile services designed to support businesses of all sizes, with packages built to fit different needs and budgets and with 100% US based customer support available 24. 7 help is always within reach so businesses can stay up and running without missing a beat. Millions of business owners rely on Spectrum business to stay connected and grow with the confidence. Visit spectrum.combusiness to learn more. Restrictions apply Services not available in all areas. It's almost like we all, we all
Lewis Howes
go through pain and then there's transformation. And maybe at 10 years ago there was some transformation happening in your life, but now you're coming back as a celebration. And a celebration is like how we look back at our whole life. Like, I went to, to, I went to three 70th birthdays last year and like I looked at life like totally different because I'm 38.
Hilary Duff
Same.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, yeah, we're the same age. And, and I went to, I went to these three 70 year old birthdays. Two of them I'm very close with, one of them I'm becoming closer with. And they had like, their kids, grandkids, they had all their friends that were important at different phases of their life. And everyone gave speeches and like it was I. And I'm a sucker for this stuff. Like, I absolutely love love and friendship and all this stuff.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
And, and I was like, wow, like when you're 70, like, life just looks so different. And it's what you just said, it's like you're at a point where you're celebrating your, you know, that you're 70 years old and not, not saying that.
Hilary Duff
Yeah. But that spirit had a lot of chapters, you know that. It's really weird. People will be like, oh, what is, what do you remember from this time? I'm like, what do you remember from 25 years ago? Like, certain things stand out. But yeah, that's, that's amazing. Definitely when you get to 70, I can imagine if I'm almost at 40 and feeling the thing that everyone told me I was gonna feel at 40. Imagine what 70 is like to get there and like a life well lived and having people from all your eras show up and, you know, speak for you and have relationships as long as you can have at 70, you know, it's cool. Yeah, it's really cool.
Lewis Howes
Has making music and writing been your therapy? Has that been your outlet? Has that. How would you describe making this album? Is it, is it therapy? Is it transformative? Is it, is it celebration? Like, what, what is it for you and what does it give you?
Hilary Duff
I think that what really triggered me wanting to make an album was having my fourth child and being like, I love motherhood, I'm obsessed with my kids. Obviously I wouldn't have Four kids. If I wasn't like, like deeply, utterly obsessed with like, the way they run through the house, the way they breathe, the way we like just the everything about the smallest things to the biggest things, like, obsessed with them. But I was like, I can't stay here and just be like in this because I know so much else about myself that has to be like, stretched. So I think I got really jealous actually of Matt after I had townes and I was like, still nursing and, you know, busy with the other kids and like, running our household and all of that, all of that responsibility, which I actually genuinely love. But I can't. That can't be like, it for me. So he was like, going. He has an amazing studio. He was like going to the studio every day and just like, getting to have alone time and getting to like, sit with things that like, bump around his head, in his head and like, make him tick and like, purge, you know, his like, creativity and create. And I was just like, I want that too. And he was like, cool. Like, are you serious? Like, it's not like for 10 years I've been writing songs. I've been like, deep in motherhood. It's been way easier to like, film a TV show, which I also love doing. But like, motherhood is a place where you just. Just can completely focus on and throw all of your energy to and then like, forget yourself. So being able to know that he has like the front row seat to my whole entire life and then sitting and like, figuring out what this is going to sound like and what I'm going to talk about felt so safe and so natural. We have such a busy life. It wasn't like. It was just endless sessions where I'm like. Were writing for eight hours. Like a lot of it was like a text and I'd be like, I'm going to get the kids from school. But what if we. What if it's this line? What if it's. What if this happens instead of that? You know, like, it's just like quick phone calls and a conversation in the kitchen while making plates for the kids. Like, it just. It just happened really naturally and like a wave that it would happen like this with, like the way that we live together.
Lewis Howes
That sounds crazy, chaotic and beautiful as it's like that sounds. What a way to make an album together and. And what a way to, you know, experience. Have the experience that you were having and then going off and creating. When you, when you speak of motherhood, it's. It's so real and at the same time. It's just like so wonderful to hear about it from you. Like, it's. And. And I know we were speaking about a bit earlier when you walked in and just how like you're like dropping the kids off at sports and like picking them up. And even today, I think when you arrived, you were like, yeah, I'm gonna go get to pick up the kids after this or whatever, you know. And I'm like, it's so wonderful. And obviously you just said like, you wouldn't have four kids if you. If you didn't, what is, what would you say is your favorite way of showing love to the kids?
Hilary Duff
One thing that my mom was with me and my dad as a young child, really playful, extremely silly and playful. And I have that from them.
Lewis Howes
I love that.
Hilary Duff
And I, I love to play tricks on my kids. I love to like, be silly and get down on their level and just be really playful with them. And I think that's a huge important part of like the parent child relationship. And then time, time spent talks, deciding to make an album and go on tour. I'm going to miss so much that I've really tried to be there for. And it could make me cry again thinking about, you know, Mei Mei. My four year old has her school tea party this Friday and I'm not gonna be there. And like, for Banks, I threw the tea party with like three other moms and was there like. And so you're like, this feels off balance. This isn't fair. But I will make it fair. I'll find a way to make it fair. And so I think just showing up for your kids and giving them the time, even if it's yesterday, I had a really busy day and I flew up the Canyon for like 40 minutes with Mei Mae, with Townes, my youngest. And I drove to Luca's soccer practice to go do an hour long interview and then take him to his next soccer practice. And by the time I got home, it was like 9pm But Matt and I drove him together. Cause we were both at the studio and then we like walked the track and watched him play soccer. So like, we got our time. Not all the kids got their time, but two of them did. And you just try to like find the balance and be like, okay, I'm not choosing towns this day. I'm choosing Mae Mei. I'm gonna go watch her a dance or I'm gonna, you know, you just, you just find a way to make it work and try to be in tune with what your kids need. And keep conversations open and that's that.
Lewis Howes
Do you think about sometimes, like, when they get older, I'm gonna talk to them about how, like, I wasn't at this party, but we did this thing. Or do you think about it that way? Or not really. Is that. Am I completely missing the point?
Hilary Duff
The things that kids stick. That stick with them is so devastating. My son.
Lewis Howes
That's so painful.
Hilary Duff
It's so painful. Like, my son, please.
Lewis Howes
I need to learn.
Hilary Duff
Okay. We were at Disney Disneyland. This is. Okay, he's 13 now, so he must have been like. Like eight or nine. And Disneyland's a big deal. We happen to go, like, every year, but it's a big deal. And he would not get on this roller coaster. And I was like, everyone's going on it. Like, you can't know until you try. Like, I ended up pushing it too far, making him cry. And it. Like, he wrote, like, a. A thing about it at school. No, I was like, what about all the times that I'm amazing?
Lewis Howes
Oh, no.
Hilary Duff
And all the time now. Now we can joke. And he loves to ride roller coasters. And I'm like, I told you. I told you. You had to just listen to me, that you would know, and we could have been having more fun since this age instead of this age and blah. You know, like, we obviously, like, razz each other a ton, but he's always like, remember that time he made me cry because I wouldn't get on the roller coaster?
Lewis Howes
And I'm like, never live in town. He needs to write a new thing in school now about how he loves roller coasters and how it started from that point.
Hilary Duff
They don't see it like that, but I'm gonna tell him you said so.
Host/Announcer
Yeah, yeah, that's.
Lewis Howes
That's.
Host/Announcer
That's the only fair. But did he ride the roller coaster
Lewis Howes
the first time after you filmed? Oh, so it wasn't even that bad then.
Hilary Duff
I think he was like, you put some. You tried to put too much pressure on me. Blah, blah, blah. Now, like, we just went to Disney World for Christmas with the kids for three days. It was so insane. Four kids, Disney World, three days.
Lewis Howes
How are you doing that on Christmas Day?
Hilary Duff
We flew. It was. Was crazy.
Lewis Howes
That's the best Christmas.
Hilary Duff
But now I put. No. I'm like, you write it when you're ready. I am not gonna be, like, nabbed as that.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Not. Not by that teacher. You're reminding me that I. I. My. My niece and nephew. My nephew is like, he's 10 years old now. He was like, two years old when this happened. Barely. Yeah, maybe two years old. We were in a. We were in the pool at Christmas time. We'd taken the family away and we're in a pool and he was in one of those donuts. Like, he just. And he needed those. And he had his armbands on and everything.
Hilary Duff
Actually, he can't swim.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, he can't swim. He's tiny. And so it was me, him and his dad hanging out in the pool and.
Hilary Duff
Oh, stitches. What happened? Oh.
Lewis Howes
So I was. I was playing this game with him, which he loved, so he won't say this. I was playing this game with him where I was pretending to be a little shark coming at him and. And I would come out and I'd surprise him and he'd laugh and whatever, and so I'd keep doing that. One time I do it, he falls through the hoop. Like, the donut. Like, for some reason he got.
Host/Announcer
But so scared that his whole body
Lewis Howes
just fell through it.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
And obviously Min has got him out immediately. Like, he was fine. All he does is tell this story. He's like, do you remember? See, when you knew?
Hilary Duff
And you're like, you can't possibly remember.
Host/Announcer
And I'm like, dude, you weren't even.
Lewis Howes
Like, you were there, but you do
Host/Announcer
not have a memory for this.
Lewis Howes
He's like, no, I remember that moment when you were trying to be a shark. And now he's teasing me with it.
Host/Announcer
Like, it's not like he's actually upset.
Lewis Howes
For the first few years, I thought he was never going to be my friend again. I was really sad about it. But you're so right. Like, it's so true. Kids are just.
Hilary Duff
When the fun games take a turn and you're like, oh, no, now you're scarred.
Lewis Howes
Totally. And he's 10 years old and now
Host/Announcer
he uses it against me.
Lewis Howes
And I'm like, I've got loads of stories on you. Like, I've got so many stories on you being silly when you were younger. And we've got video of it too, so. But no, you're so right, kids. And I guess that's what's so hard with children. It's like you. You think you're doing things right and then. Yeah, you know, you never know. And that's why I think that overriding love is just so valuable, right? Because you can't.
Host/Announcer
You can't predict how they're going to
Lewis Howes
react to one of these experiences. Like, yes.
Hilary Duff
Right. You also just don't know that you're always doing things right. And I think that's okay. I have a lot of confidence in being a parent just because, you know, the more times you do something, you're like, oh, I know what this looks like. Oh, I, I know how to do this thing. But I've never been a parent of a. A 14 year old and I've never been the parent of a eight year old girl. Like all of these things are just, it's, it's a constant checking in, updating. One thing that works for this kid doesn't work for this kid. And so it is chaotic, but it's so fun and you like, learn so much and the love is so big and we laugh a lot. I'm so grateful for that. It's my favorite. We have these big doors that open in the back of our house and we just will open up all the doors. We have cats now, so we have to put the cats away, but we just open all the doors up. And it's just like kids running in and out and soccer in the backyard and everybody playing and jumping on the trampoline or swimming and I just am so appreciative of them and Matt and what we've built. It's such a, such a haven.
Lewis Howes
How did they end up with all these cool names like Towns and Banks and May. May.
Hilary Duff
Like towns and Banks and May. May. Gosh. How did they end up with their names?
Lewis Howes
They're so unique.
Hilary Duff
I know. Well, May, that was. We thought she was a boy. She was the only kid that we didn't find out when we were having. Because we had her in the pandemic. And I think we were all looking for ways to entertain ourselves and surprise ourselves.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. For sure.
Hilary Duff
So we. She was a. Her like, gender was a surprise. And we thought for sure she was going to be a boy and she was a girl. And both of our moms were born in May, so we named her Mei Mei, or may we call her Mei Mei. She just came to the realization that her nickname is longer than her real name. And she's like, really confused by why we would do that.
Lewis Howes
That makes a lot of sense.
Hilary Duff
Yeah.
Lewis Howes
She's smart.
Hilary Duff
Yeah. And she introduces herself as Mei Mei, but she's like, why is Banks not like Banks Banks? And like, what is going on here? They're very funny. Yeah. I don't think we wanted, like, traditional names, but we also didn't want, like, names that, that, you know, they didn't feel comfortable with as adults. So we hope we nailed it. But they also have more normal middle names.
Host/Announcer
Okay.
Lewis Howes
Right.
Hilary Duff
So who knows?
Lewis Howes
I like them. They're so fun.
Hilary Duff
Thank you.
Lewis Howes
I feel like they, I, I haven't met them before, but like, like they all sound like they have a personality based on their names.
Hilary Duff
They all have a very big personality. I like that. The girls names, the two banks and towns, they kind of have like last name sounding names, which feels strong for girls. And that was kind of my goal.
Lewis Howes
Nice. I love it. Hillary, you've been amazing to talk to. Truly. I, I've loved this conversation. I feel like I've learned so much about you. I feel like I feel closer to you just from how open you've been, how vulnerable you've been. We have a couple of games, as I promised you, segments, to finish off another game, our interview. So I'm gonna bring them out now. So there's a couple that we invented recently that we absolutely love. And so this question, this. There's two games. The first one is called would you rather. And it's the Disney era edition.
Hilary Duff
Oh, yes. Usually we play with like disgusting food or like horrible things, but let's go,
Lewis Howes
this is a lot easier. So would you rather have to say, hi, I'm Hillary Duff and you're watching Disney channel every time you introduce yourself or have the Lizzie McGuire animated character in your head at all times?
Hilary Duff
Oh, she lives in there. Rent free, baby. I think, I think I would have her living. I mean, I've accepted her in my head, so I'm choosing the latter.
Lewis Howes
Okay, got it. That makes sense. That's good.
Host/Announcer
All right, we can't see it.
Lewis Howes
You'd have to do it. So. Okay, second one. Walk every red carpet now in low rise jeans or a scarf worn as a top.
Hilary Duff
No. No. So my option is low rise jeans on the red carpet or a scarf as a top or dress? Dress, Skirt as a top.
Lewis Howes
Yeah.
Hilary Duff
Oh my gosh. That is so impossible. This is forever. This is for eternity.
Lewis Howes
This is.
Host/Announcer
Yeah, yeah.
Lewis Howes
Would you rather. Let's, let's say for the next 12 months. Let's say for the next 12.
Hilary Duff
That works for me. I'm going low rise jeans.
Lewis Howes
Okay, there we go. All right, perfect. I was being kind. I was being kind. Would you rather have come clean play every time it starts raining or have wake up as your alarm clock every morning?
Hilary Duff
Oh, my God. Well, I feel like every time it's raining and I open Instagram, come clean is playing in your head. Yeah, but the way that I'm going to skirt around this is that we live in LA and it doesn't rain very often. So I'M choosing that one.
Lewis Howes
Good answer. These are great responses. I love that. Okay, very good. There's so many more. I'll have to send you some of these because I need to get through some of these questions. But this is the last one of the Would you rather Disney era edition.
Hilary Duff
Right.
Lewis Howes
Would you rather bring back ultra thin eyebrows or foundation over the lips?
Hilary Duff
You definitely didn't come up with that one.
Lewis Howes
I didn't.
Hilary Duff
Whoa. I think, ooh, that's so tough. I think I'm gonna go with ultra thin eyebrows. Might be a vibe.
Lewis Howes
I think so.
Hilary Duff
I Hope, like, the 12 month rule can be applied to this answer.
Lewis Howes
12 month rules applies to thin.
Hilary Duff
I'm gonna thin eyebrow. I never want foundation on my lips again. That was, like, a must before I went out. I would just, like, blot out my lips.
Lewis Howes
Lips.
Hilary Duff
Now we're, like, all crayoning to make our lips bigger.
Lewis Howes
That's fascinating, isn't it? Hence 12 months. Makes sense because you never know what could come back.
Hilary Duff
That's true.
Lewis Howes
Okay, this game's called Gut Reaction, so you have to just finish the sentence.
Hilary Duff
Okay.
Lewis Howes
One thing my kids make fun of
Hilary Duff
me for is getting gotten by AI.
Lewis Howes
What do you mean? Oh, you'll literally be like, this is real.
Hilary Duff
Oh, yeah. I'm like, look at this. My son's like, cats don't jump on trampolines, so that's. You're insane. I'm like, right, Got it, got it.
Lewis Howes
Got. Is getting scary.
Hilary Duff
I know.
Lewis Howes
It is getting scary.
Hilary Duff
It's easy to, like, giggle about it right now, and some of the things that we see are, like, funny, but no, it's. I don't like it at all.
Lewis Howes
Yeah, yeah, it's scary. All right. The most cringe moment of me on the Internet I wish could be erased is.
Hilary Duff
Oh, gosh. The most cringe moment of me on the Internet. Honestly, I probably felt like it was the with love dance for a long time, but now you've owned it. We're back, baby.
Lewis Howes
We're back. I love that. It's. It's been all over my TikTok feed. Like, I've not seen anything else. I've been showing it to everyone. I'm like, yeah, it's all I've been. It's all I've been seeing and sharing the first. I'm not joking. I'm not joking. Thinking first artist you'd want next to you on a long tour bus ride.
Hilary Duff
Probably Taylor Swift, because I bet those buses are nice.
Lewis Howes
Oh, you want to go on her bus? Yeah. This was on your Tour bus.
Hilary Duff
Okay, well, she would probably give me all the tips for tour because she hasn't stopped.
Lewis Howes
Absolutely. Yeah, those, those. I mean, tours are hard work. I've never done anything nearly as long as any musician on the planet. I did like 40 shows two years ago, and I was like, this is insane.
Hilary Duff
I know.
Lewis Howes
I can't believe.
Hilary Duff
Really hard.
Lewis Howes
Unbelievable.
Hilary Duff
I was just gone for 12 days and I almost, like, cried when I just, like, like, saw my pillows on my bed and I was like, oh, it's gonna be a good night. I get my pillows back.
Lewis Howes
Hillary. We end every episode of On Purpose with a final five. These questions have to be answered in one sentence maximum. Okay, so, Hilary Duff, these are your final five. The first question is, what is the best advice you've ever heard or received?
Hilary Duff
Do you. Because everyone else is taken.
Lewis Howes
Great advice. Second question, what is the. The worst advice you've ever heard or received?
Hilary Duff
Effy, Never grow up.
Lewis Howes
Third question. Your favorite thing about Matt that you
Hilary Duff
don't say to him enough, he's really handsome.
Lewis Howes
There you go, Matt. Yeah, you can play this as many times as you want.
Hilary Duff
I know. He's really. I. I mean, I just. I love looking at him and I think that he's such a funny guy that it's easy to just be like, yeah, he's so funny. He's like the best. It's easy to. He keeps us laughing. Like, he's just like, really a fun, funny, like, goof. But he's so handsome.
Lewis Howes
I love it. Fourth question. Will we ever get a Lizzie McGuire reboot?
Hilary Duff
I can't answer this in one sentence, but I can say that right now. It's not in the cards. I have a world tour to go on, and that's gonna take me a few years, I think. But when I think about Lizzie, you know, I was really excited thinking about her at 30 and going through 30 year old things, and now I can't really see her at 40. Maybe I could start to see her around the 55, 60. And I think that's interesting.
Lewis Howes
That is interesting. We'd love to see that. I love it. All right. Very, very good answer. Fifth and final question. We ask this to every guest who's ever been on the show. If you could create one law that everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
Hilary Duff
I wanted to say, like, love, like loving each other. But you don't have to love everyone you come into contact with and you don't have to trust everyone. And you also don't have to accept, like, that's the other thing, like accept, accept everyone. But I think that there needs to be some guidelines. Do you know what I mean? Like the basic things.
Lewis Howes
Yes.
Hilary Duff
I wish there was just acceptance of like everybody being like created equal and accepted for. Skin tone or gender or whatever. But there has to be some rules in place for like bad people.
Lewis Howes
Yes.
Hilary Duff
So I guess like using common sense with acceptance.
Lewis Howes
Hilary Duff, thank you so much. I'm so excited for everyone to hear your album. So excited. I hope I get to come see you on tour. I'm really excited to see you perform live.
Hilary Duff
I will keep you updated.
Lewis Howes
I would love that. This was such a joy, such a treat. Thank you for being so open and honest. I hope you got to share everything you wanted to share. I hope you feel seen and heard and so grateful that you trusted me and trusted our platform to come and be so open. So thank you so much.
Hilary Duff
Thank you.
Lewis Howes
Thank you.
Hilary Duff
Yeah. No, I really enjoyed it.
Lewis Howes
Yeah. Thank you.
Host/Announcer
If you love this episode, you'll really enjoy my episode with Selena Gomez on befriending your inner critic and how to speak to yourself with more compassion.
Hilary Duff
There's blessing in the breaking and every moment that you encounter in your life, even if it's just road rage.
Host/Announcer
At the start of 2026, I set a simple goal for myself. Stay consistent with my movement even on the days when motivation dips. Some weeks I track my miles, other weeks I just focus on showing up. And when I notice my routine needs a reset, I don't quit. I adjust. One thing that's helped me stay steady is cachava. It fits into my day without overcomplicating it. I know I'm supporting my energy with key vitamins and minerals, my digestion with fiber, probiotics and enzymes, and my strength with plant based protein and electrolytes all in one shake. I usually blend mine with almond milk, frozen fruit and sometimes a little peanut butter. It takes minutes and the recipes from the Cachava Kitchen make it effortless. Plus, with six flavors like chocolate, vanilla, chai, matcha, coconut, acai and strawberry, it never gets boring. Cachava is clean all in one nutrition, made with high quality ingredients, no fillers, no artificial flavors and no nonsense. Stick with your wellness goals. Go to cachava.com and use code purpose for 15% off. That's Cachava K-A C-H-A-A.com code purpose
Lewis Howes
food
Host/Announcer
has a quiet way of reminding people to slow down and stay present at Whole Foods Market. Even a quick trip can feel like a small journey guided by flavors from around the world and those yellow signs that highlight great value without sacrificing quality. One aisle might inspire a Mediterranean style dinner with pasta and sauce. Another makes it easy to say yes to prepared empanadas or burritos. When time feels tight, it's not about doing more, it's about choosing well, simply and intentionally. Save on regional flavors. At Whole Foods Market, we spend so much time managing stress and wellness, but sometimes it's the unseen things around us that throw us off, like allergens hiding in the air we breathe at home. That's where Clorox Pure Allergen Neutralizer Daily Air Spray comes in. Developed with allergists, it neutralizes common household allergies like pollen, dust, mite matter and pet dander, right where they can linger most in the air. There's also Clorox Pure Allergen Neutralizer Fabric and carpet Spray for carpets, couches, and bedding, where allergens can lurk. Add Clorox Pure to your daily routine to stop allergens before they become allergies. Find it in the Air Care aisle at a retailer near you.
Hilary Duff
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Date: March 9, 2026
Guest: Hilary Duff
Host: Lewis Howes (guest hosting for Jay Shetty)
In this deeply personal and refreshingly candid conversation, Hilary Duff joins "On Purpose" to talk about her sixth studio album, Luck or Something, returning to music after a decade, and how her journey through fame, family, motherhood, self-acceptance, and transformation has shaped her. Navigating everything from childhood in Texas to Disney superstardom, through struggles with body image and relationships, Duff opens up about the messy, beautiful, and grounded reality behind the headlines. Listeners are offered rare insight into the woman she is today: mature, vulnerable, and joyfully honest.
[03:57]
“Part of the reason this return to music is feeling so good to me is just that it feels completely rooted in my truth and who I am and what I live with.” ([05:09])
[07:24] – [10:30]
[13:35] – [16:34]
[17:01] – [19:51]
“The more they do, the more they can do, and the more you can do, the better you feel about yourself.” ([19:53], Hilary Duff)
[21:42] – [26:28]
“When I realized the kind of parents we were and how we were doing as parents together, I really remember just feeling like my shoulders could be like… (lets out breath) and it was really, like, really a nice weight off.” ([21:57])
[31:14] – [41:36]
[32:33] – [35:34]
“The title is pretty loaded … It’s a coy way of, like, responding to a question I’m constantly asked, which is like, how are you so normal? How did you get through this? And I’m like, luck or something.” ([33:26])
[36:36] – [49:38]
[52:14] – [54:11]
“It feels like I get to be a part of it with everybody instead of trying to shy away from it and be like, ‘I’m an adult or I’m changed or I’m different or that’s not me anymore.’ That is a part of me, and it will always be.” ([54:11])
[60:22] – [66:29]
“The things that stick with [kids] is so devastating.” ([65:46])
[69:20] – [70:33]
“You lose anonymity… I’ve lived, you know, pretty much in the public eye since I was 10. And probably around 15 was when… the world started getting very interested in what I was wearing, who I was dating, what I was eating, where I was…” ([09:22], Hilary Duff)
“There would be no purpose to make a record after 10 years than to be—than to face, you know, what it’s been like. So that’s my truth.” ([44:15], Hilary Duff)
“My sister and I don’t speak. And I think in my adulthood, I’ve come across more and more people that are having this experience. And as painful as it feels to share, when I decided to make this record, I could only talk about the things that I’ve gone through.” ([43:57])
“It doesn’t matter what age you are, you want your parents to feel like they care about you. And big portion of my existence hasn’t felt like that. I don’t know if that’s the truth, but that’s how it feels.” ([49:38])
“Some of it you’re born with, and some of it is like, what is what you’re surrounded by and what you... what’s modeled for you.” ([18:50])
“You also just don’t know that you’re always doing things right, and I think that’s okay.” ([69:20])
[72:37]
The conversation is heartfelt, insightful, at times raw, but ultimately uplifting. Hilary’s willingness to discuss complexities behind her seemingly “shiny” life—the losses, the insecurities, the reconciliations—gives the listener permission to embrace their own multifaceted stories. Her signature blend of humor, relatability, and resilience shines through. As Lewis says:
"The impact you’ve had on people proves that there’s so much hard work, so much talent, such a gift, like, so much—you can’t have that, that people grow up watching a lot of people, it doesn’t mean that you carry that same impact." ([35:46])
For anyone navigating identity, family relationships, or personal transformation, Hilary’s chapter is proof of the beauty in embracing all sides of ourselves and the joy of letting both old and new versions co-exist.
Key Takeaway: Feelings of luck, gratitude, and hardship can—and do—coexist. The real work is in being honest, holding onto what grounds us, and giving ourselves permission to own our story, mess and all.