Ashley Tisdale’s Husband Christopher French Discusses ‘Toxic Mom’ Drama and Supporting Her

Christopher French addressed his wife Ashley Tisdale and her recent mom group drama in an interview published Wednesday, September 30.

In an on-camera interview with Page Six, the musician discussed how he and the High School Musical actress are doing nine months after Tisdale published a polarizing The Cut essay about ending a relationship with her toxic circle of mom friends. Observers noted at the time that the group appeared to include Hilary Duff, Meghan Trainor, and Mandy Moore.

“We’re doing fine, thank you for asking,” French said. “I will say I have no problem supporting my wife completely and her ability to deal with her own interpersonal relationships in whatever way feels right for her, without getting involved or feeling like I have to speak for her.”

“She’s a really smart chick,” he added. “She’s a very capable person, which is really what made it so hard … speaking about our own experiences in general, it can be really hard to navigate that stuff.”

The comments arrive a few months after Tisdale announced in July that she partnered with Netflix to adapt her friend group experiences into a television series. She wrote at the time that everyone can be a little toxic. The production is described as a dark half-hour comedy about a sleep-deprived new mother who joins a clique of wealthy mothers who display a darker side.

It remains unclear how closely the show, titled Toxic Moms, will follow the Suite Life of Zack & Cody star’s essay or if the fallout will impact the plot. In the original article, Tisdale described feeling left out and returned to high school dynamics due to exclusionary mom friends. After fans observed that she stopped appearing in photos with Duff, Trainor, and Moore, several of those women addressed the situation publicly.

“I don’t really think people had to connect very many dots, do you?” the Lizzie McGuire singer and actress said on Call Her Daddy in February regarding how easily readers linked the essay to her. “It sucks to read something that’s not true, and it sucks on behalf of, like, six women and all of their lives … the timing felt not great, and I felt used.”

“I’m someone who is really scared by confrontation,” Moore stated on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live. “But also when it’s important, I am a huge proponent [of] having a conversation if my feelings are hurt. Face-to-face. It’s not always the most comfortable of situations, but I think that’s where I sort of differed in feeling like I wouldn’t have handled the situation this way.”

Tisdale and French married in 2014 and share two daughters, 5-year-old Jupiter and 2-year-old Emerson.