Hilaria Baldwin is breaking her silence about the fierce backlash she faced over her accent. In the March 16th episode of "The Baldwins," the 41-year-old opens up about her journey of learning to adapt her accent, long before it ignited a controversy in 2020 when people doubted the authenticity of her Spanish heritage.
"Growing up amidst multiple cultural influences makes it impossible to fully fit in, no matter how hard you try," she shares poignantly. "You become a chameleon, someone who codes-switches with ease... it becomes so instinctual that you don't even realize you're doing it. It's simply normal, it's natural."
During a heartfelt chat with a 15-year-old friend of her daughter Carmen Gabriela, Hilaria, a well-known television personality, reveals her comfort in "code-switching" — adjusting her accent or mannerisms to align with social norms, like when speaking to an elderly person. "They say it's a form of communication. When talking to an elderly person who has hearing difficulties, I naturally speak slower," she elaborates. "It's something you do without thinking, it just happens."
She continues thoughtfully, "It's called code-switching... I had to learn about it the hard way, after the world turned against me. It's code-switching."
In a confessional moment, the mother of seven reflects on how she's learned to navigate the controversy with grace. "Being in the spotlight, as they say. People often ask, 'Don't you get used to it?' No, you don't. You never get used to people being mean. But you take a deep breath, learn to detach, and try to turn down the noise in your head... you can't take it personally," she shares.
The discourse around Hilaria's heritage ignited in December 2020 when social media users accused her of fabricating her Spanish roots, pointing out that she was born in Boston, Massachusetts, with the birth name Hilary.
"I've seen chatter online questioning my identity and culture. This is something I take seriously," she had written at the time, accompanied by a now-deleted seven-minute video. "I was born in Boston but grew up spending time between Massachusetts and Spain. My parents and sibling live in Spain, and I chose to live here, in the USA."
Addressing the controversy on the season premiere of "The Baldwins," she also talked about embracing her heritage. "I love English, I also love Spanish, and mixing the two doesn't make me inauthentic. It makes me normal," she admits candidly in a confessional. "I wouldn't be honest if I said [the controversy] didn't make me sad, hurt, and push me into dark times."
"But it was my family, friends, and community who speak multiple languages, belong in multiple places, and understand that we're a mix of all these different things. That impacts how we sound, articulate, choose words, and behave," she continues. "That's normal. That's being human," she adds.
"The Baldwins" airs on TLC every Sunday at 10 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Max.
