Marriage no longer ‘essential’ for Hilary Duff

CEBU, Philippines – Hilary Duff and her husband Mike Comrie announced their separation in January 2014, and at the time, her rep said the exes would “remain best friends and will continue to be in each other’s lives.” Hilary and Mike made good on that promise for the sake of their three-year-old son Luca, but now the TV star is thinking about her next step.

As she explains in Redbook magazine’s February 2016 issue, her feelings about marriage and motherhood have changed since her split.

“I don’ want to say I wouldn’t get married again, but it’s not important to me. I don’t feel I would need to be married to have another child. If I felt strongly enough toward someone or if someone felt strongly about it, I might say okay,” says the single actress-singer, who went on a few Tinder dates earlier this year. “But it’s not essential.”

Hilary’s new attitude may sound easy breezy, but make no mistake: she still suffers from mom guilt, just like everyone else.

“It’s hard to say that you really can have it all. I think you can to a certain degree, but fully loaded, pedal-all-the-way-down is tough,” admits Hilary, who shares custody of Luca with Mike, who retired from hockey in 2012. “You’re missing out on something, either on the career or on the family. When I’m really busy with work, I feel extremely guilty.”

Motherhood is Hilary’s greatest joy, but being a famous mom has its downsides. “After I had Luca, I went out to the breast-pump store—I was still huge—and I just had a comfortable outfit on. And the next day in the tabloids it was like, ‘Hilary debuts post-baby bod!’ And I was like, ‘That’s not a debut! That’s an errand!’” the 28-year-old recalls. “It was such a happy time that honestly I didn’t care; it wasn’t until later that I realized how mean and invasive it was.”