Headline: Hilaria Baldwin Refutes Claims of Faking Spanish Accent: 'It's Just Me Being Me'
Hilaria Baldwin, wife of actor Alec Baldwin, has broken her silence surrounding the controversy about her Spanish accent and heritage that erupted several years ago. In 2020, the yoga instructor, then aged 41, faced public scrutiny when it was disclosed that she wasn't actually born in Spain as previously suggested, but was instead born and raised in the United States.
Critics accused Hilaria of falsely claiming a Spanish accent, with many noting that it seemed to change over the years during her televised appearances. The controversy is addressed in the first episode of the family's new reality show on TLC, "The Baldwins," where Hilaria defends her accent.
She stated, "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 also acknowledged the emotional toll the controversy took on her, saying, "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."
The mother of seven further emphasized the impact of her multicultural experiences on her speech and mannerisms, asserting that it's a part of being human. Hilaria and Alec Baldwin have three daughters and four sons together. Alec also has a daughter from his previous relationship with Kim Basinger.
Hilaria stressed the importance of her children being bilingual, just as she was raised, with her family now residing in Spain. In 2020, online users dug into her background and discovered that she was born as Hillary Lynn Hayward-Thomas in Boston. This revelation gave rise to claims that she had misrepresented her origins and overstated her Spanish heritage.
In response to the criticisms, Hilaria clarified in a now-deleted Instagram video that she was born in Boston and spent part of her childhood in Spain. She explained, "I am that person, if I’ve been speaking a lot of Spanish, I tend to mix them or if I’m speaking a lot of English I mix that. It’s one of those things I’ve always been a bit insecure about." She also