- - “RHOBH” Alum Crystal Minkoff Shares Her Experience with Ashley Tisdale's 'Toxic' Mom Group: 'I Already Went Through This'

Hannah SacksJanuary 13, 2026 at 12:19 AM

0

Katie Flores/Variety via Getty; Michael Tullberg/Getty

Ashley Tisdale; Crystal Minkoff -

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Crystal Minkoff is sharing her experience with Ashley Tisdale's "toxic" mom friend group

The former reality TV star shared that she'd grown up with several of the women in the alleged friend group and had similar experiences

However, while she defended Tisdale French's experience, Minkoff also said she had a hard time seeing some of the women acting that way

Crystal Minkoff is sharing her experience with Ashley Tisdale French's "toxic" mom group.

The former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star – who appeared on three seasons of the franchise — revealed on a Monday, Jan. 12 episode of her Humble Brag podcast that she was previously friends with a few of the members Tisdale French allegedly refers to in her now-viral essay for The Cut on leaving a "toxic" group of mom friends.

"I know, probably, 70 percent of the mom group because we all went to preschool together. We're all the same group," Minkoff shared on her podcast. "One went to the same high school as us."

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Vivien Killilea/Getty

Crystal Minkoff

She then proceeded to summarize the situation to guest co-host Tracy Tutor of Bravo's Million Dollar Listing. Minkoff said the situation got "so big" when Tisdale French penned her essay for The Cut.

"It's everywhere. Everyone's talking about it," said Minkoff. "I don't want to give too much tea about it because it's their personal stuff. I just found it really interesting."

"I posted on Threads the other day a joke, like, 'Oh, this is so 2021, I already went through this,' " she continued.

Minkoff said that people on the Internet began making the connection between the former reality TV star and Tisdale French after Minkoff revealed she'd lost 14 friends after starring on the Real Housewives.

"What I found interesting is that Ashley's story was that she left the group, and my story is I didn't leave the group," explained Minkoff. "I did the show, and they just said — I did a whole episode about this so it's not untold — they all went against me and dropped me."

Hilary Duff/Instagram

Hilary Duff with Tisdale French and her mom group friends

She then went on to posit that Tisdale French is "getting all the heat" because it's a "super celeb group."

"I just wonder, what was she thinking was gonna happen?" Minkoff asked of Tisdale French. "That's not my [friend] group. I just know them all because we were all at the same preschool. I remember there [were] issues then. Someone wasn't included."

However, Minkoff defended Tisdale French and said that if it was happening to her, she wasn't reading it wrong. "You know, if you're being pushed out," she added.

Minkoff then said she messaged one of the moms, who allegedly said they weren't the toxic ones in the story.

"I was like, 'I gotta know what's going on.' They said, 'It's so ironic that we're the toxic ones and she's on her own,' " said Minkoff. "I have mixed feelings about it, because I know this group. I don't know Ashley at all. I've met Ashley a couple times, but I don't know her at all."

Hilary Duff/Instagram

Ashley Tisdale with her 'mom friend group' in July 2022

Minkoff also said that Tisdale French is getting most of the blame right now because members of the alleged mom group, including Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff and Meghan Trainor, are "so beloved" in Hollywood.

"Ashley's getting 90 percent [of the] hate," Minkoff said. "I kept [my story] private. I didn't want anyone to know. It all came from other sources."

Minkoff said she thinks she would "feel connected" to Tisdale French even if she "didn't know the players" in this specific situation.

"I went through this. I lived it," Minkoff said. "So my initial [thought] is I feel for all sides, because I know the group. I will say, someone like Hilary, I known her for 10 years. Super sweet. I cannot see her being a mean girl like that, but it's dynamic. So, I feel for Ashley."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”