Hilaria Baldwin Says She's Still 'Hurt' Over Fake Accent Controversy: Being Bilingual 'Doesn’t Make Me Inauthentic'

Mar. 15, 2025

Hilaria Baldwinis addressing her Spanish accent.In the premiere of the new TLC reality showThe Baldwins,which comes out Feb. 23, Hilaria, 41, spoke out about the 2020controversy over her accentafter people began to question the authenticity of her Spanish origins.Years later, she said no one can stop her from embracing her identity.“I love English, I also love Spanish, and when I mix the two it doesn’t make me inauthentic, and when I mix the two, that makes me normal,” she noted in a confessional. “I’d be lying if I said [the controversy] didn’t make me sad and it didn’t hurt and it didn’t put me in dark places.““But it was my family, my friends, my community who speak multiple languages, who have belonged in multiple places and realize that we are a mix of all these different things and that’s going to have an impact on how we sound and an impact on how we articulate things and the words that we choose and our mannerisms,” she continued.“That’s normal,” she added. “That’s called being human.”The Baldwins.Rou ShootsWhen it comes to the children she shares with husbandAlec Baldwin—Ilaria Catalina Irena, 2,María Lucía Victoria, 3,Eduardo “Edu” Pao Lucas, 4,Romeo Alejandro David, 6,Leonardo Ángel Charles, 8,Rafael Thomas, 9, andCarmen Gabriela, 11 — Hilaria said no public criticism will stop her from bringing her Spanish culture into their lives.“I’m raising my kids to be bilingual, I was raised bilingual,” she explained. “My family — all my nuclear family — now lives over in Spain. I want to teach my kids pride in speaking more than one language. I think just growing up and speaking two languages is extremely special.”Hilaria Baldwin.Dimitrios Kambouris/GettyThe conversation surrounding her heritagefirst arose in December 2020when social media users alleged that Hilaria was fabricating her Spanish roots when she was actually born in Boston, Massachusetts and her birth name is Hilary.“I’ve seen chatter online questioning my identity and culture. This is something I take very seriously, and for those who are asking — I’ll reiterate my story, as I’ve done many times before,” shewrote at the time, along with a since-deleted, seven-minute video. “I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain. My parents and sibling live in Spain and I chose to live here, in the U.S.A.“Hilaria Baldwin.Kevin Mazur/GettyPublic confusion grew when Hilariaappeared onTodayin 2020 and went viral for appearing toforget the English word “cucumber.“In February 2021, the fitness instructortook to her social mediatooffer more clarity.“I’ve spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow. My parents raised my brother and me with two cultures, American and Spanish, and I feel a true sense of belonging to both,” she captioned a family photo of her with Alec and their kids. “The way I’ve spoken about myself and my deep connection to two cultures could have been better explained — I should have been more clear and I’m sorry.“She continued: “I’m proud of the way I was raised, and we’re raising our children to share the same love and respect for both. Being vulnerable and pushing ourselves to learn and grow is what we’ve built our community on, and I hope to get back to the supportive and kind environment we’ve built together.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.The Baldwinspremieres Sunday, Feb. 23 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC, with new episodes airing weekly. Episodes are available to stream on Max.

Hilaria Baldwinis addressing her Spanish accent.

In the premiere of the new TLC reality showThe Baldwins,which comes out Feb. 23, Hilaria, 41, spoke out about the 2020controversy over her accentafter people began to question the authenticity of her Spanish origins.

Years later, she said no one can stop her from embracing her identity.

“I love English, I also love Spanish, and when I mix the two it doesn’t make me inauthentic, and when I mix the two, that makes me normal,” she noted in a confessional. “I’d be lying if I said [the controversy] didn’t make me sad and it didn’t hurt and it didn’t put me in dark places.”

“But it was my family, my friends, my community who speak multiple languages, who have belonged in multiple places and realize that we are a mix of all these different things and that’s going to have an impact on how we sound and an impact on how we articulate things and the words that we choose and our mannerisms,” she continued.

“That’s normal,” she added. “That’s called being human.”

The Baldwins.Rou Shoots

Rou Shoots

When it comes to the children she shares with husbandAlec Baldwin—Ilaria Catalina Irena, 2,María Lucía Victoria, 3,Eduardo “Edu” Pao Lucas, 4,Romeo Alejandro David, 6,Leonardo Ángel Charles, 8,Rafael Thomas, 9, andCarmen Gabriela, 11 — Hilaria said no public criticism will stop her from bringing her Spanish culture into their lives.

“I’m raising my kids to be bilingual, I was raised bilingual,” she explained. “My family — all my nuclear family — now lives over in Spain. I want to teach my kids pride in speaking more than one language. I think just growing up and speaking two languages is extremely special.”

Hilaria Baldwin.Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

The conversation surrounding her heritagefirst arose in December 2020when social media users alleged that Hilaria was fabricating her Spanish roots when she was actually born in Boston, Massachusetts and her birth name is Hilary.

“I’ve seen chatter online questioning my identity and culture. This is something I take very seriously, and for those who are asking — I’ll reiterate my story, as I’ve done many times before,” shewrote at the time, along with a since-deleted, seven-minute video. “I was born in Boston and grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain. My parents and sibling live in Spain and I chose to live here, in the U.S.A.”

Hilaria Baldwin.Kevin Mazur/Getty

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Public confusion grew when Hilariaappeared onTodayin 2020 and went viral for appearing toforget the English word “cucumber.”

In February 2021, the fitness instructortook to her social mediatooffer more clarity.

“I’ve spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow. My parents raised my brother and me with two cultures, American and Spanish, and I feel a true sense of belonging to both,” she captioned a family photo of her with Alec and their kids. “The way I’ve spoken about myself and my deep connection to two cultures could have been better explained — I should have been more clear and I’m sorry.”

She continued: “I’m proud of the way I was raised, and we’re raising our children to share the same love and respect for both. Being vulnerable and pushing ourselves to learn and grow is what we’ve built our community on, and I hope to get back to the supportive and kind environment we’ve built together.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Baldwinspremieres Sunday, Feb. 23 at 10 p.m. ET on TLC, with new episodes airing weekly. Episodes are available to stream on Max.

source: people.com