Hilary Duff is opening up about the end of her marriage to former NHL player Mike Comrie, offering a rare glimpse into the reasons behind their 2014 separation and 2016 divorce. In a recent appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, the actress and singer detailed how the relationship simply ran its course, a realization that came about relatively quickly.
Duff and Comrie, who began dating in 2007 and married in 2010, share a 13-year-old son, Luca. The actress emphasized that navigating the breakup with a young child was the most challenging aspect of the process. “I can’t remember the exact time I was like, ‘I’m gonna call this,’” Duff shared, according to E! News. “It was just—it wasn’t working anymore.”
The “Lizzie McGuire” star explained that her primary focus during the difficult time was protecting Luca. “I remember the one thing that was really hard about it was like, processing that it was happening and it was going to happen and going through all those emotions,” she recalled. “It was a really scary time to just not want to f–k up your kid.” She prioritized ensuring Luca’s well-being above all else, putting her own feelings aside to create a stable environment for him.
Duff also noted that she and Comrie were aligned in their desire to make the divorce as amicable as possible for their son. “I think he was good with it, because I was like, ‘Here’s this, this, this,’ and he was like, ‘Great,’” she said. She described a conscious effort to maintain a peaceful co-parenting relationship, spending time together and ensuring a smooth transition for Luca during exchanges. This approach, she suggested, predated the popularization of the term “conscious uncoupling” by Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin.
The actress reflected on her earlier views on marriage, sharing insights from a 2015 interview with Cosmopolitan, as reported by US Magazine. At the time, she acknowledged that her decision to marry at a young age, after meeting Comrie in 2007, may have been premature. “Mike and I were very in love when we met,” she told the magazine. “We both really wanted to get married. I’d been working since the age of 11 or 12, so making that choice at a young age seemed right for me. Maybe it wasn’t, but we spent the majority of our time together really happy.”
Duff acknowledged that despite the love that initially brought them together, the relationship eventually faltered. “It wasn’t working well enough to stay together, but there was still a lot of love involved. It was just a slow set-in of us not being the match that we used to be,” she explained in the 2015 interview. She expressed gratitude for the person Comrie was and how they navigated the separation.
The actress is now married to musician Matthew Koma, with whom she shares three children: Banks, 7, Mae, 4 and Townes, 20 months. However, even in her current relationship, Duff has admitted to harboring insecurities, as reported by Page Six via Google News. She recently confessed to fearing that Koma will leave her for another musician.
Despite these anxieties, Duff appears to have found a sense of peace and stability in her current family life. Her willingness to openly discuss her past relationships, and the challenges that came with them, offers a relatable and honest perspective on love, loss, and the complexities of modern family dynamics. Her emphasis on prioritizing her children’s well-being throughout her personal transitions underscores a commitment to responsible co-parenting and a dedication to creating a nurturing environment for her kids.
