Hilary Duff has confirmed that her song “We Don’t Talk,” from her recently released album luck…or something, is about her fractured relationship with her sister, Haylie Duff. The revelation came during an interview with CBS Mornings on Friday, marking the first time Duff has publicly addressed speculation about the song’s meaning in over a decade.
“Yeah, it’s definitely about my sister, and just absolutely the most lonely part of my existence is not having my sister in my life at the moment,” Duff told CBS Mornings, visibly emotional. She explained that she “really struggled with including that on the record,” but ultimately felt compelled to share her experience, recognizing that many others face similar family estrangements.
The song’s lyrics, which include the lines “’Cause we reach from the same home, the same blood / A different combination, but the same lock / People question me how you’re doing, I wanna say amazing / But the truth is that I don’t know,” prompted fan speculation upon its initial release during Duff’s Small Rooms, Big Nerves shows earlier this year. Duff confirmed that the song was, in part, inspired by her relationship with Haylie, with whom she co-starred in the 2006 film Material Girls.
Duff acknowledged the difficulty of navigating public scrutiny of her personal life, stating that it has been “a crazy thing to process” to watch her life unfold online and deal with both accurate and inaccurate rumors. Despite the deeply personal nature of the song, Duff emphasized that her intention wasn’t to initiate a reconciliation with her sister.
“I don’t feel that would help,” she said. “I think I have to just exist as a person on my own and do what I want to do.” She admitted uncertainty about whether Haylie would even hear the song or how she might react, but reiterated the importance of expressing her truth, given the lack of privacy surrounding her life. The sisters have not been photographed together since 2019, according to reports.
luck…or something is Duff’s first full-length album since 2015’s Breathe In. Breathe Out.