Kaley Cuoco has a straightforward strategy for navigating toxic mom groups. Following Ashley Tisdale's viral essay for The Cut, where she opened up about the drama within her motherhood circles, Kaley offered a simple solution during her Feb. 5 appearance on Watch What Happens Live: "If you don't enjoy being part of a group, just leave, baby," she advised. "I don't think we need to delve into it further. Just leave. Find a new group."
While Kaley, who briefly dated Ashley's husband Christopher French in the early 2010s, didn't think an essay was necessary, Ashley felt empowered by speaking out about her experience. "Of course, it would have been easier to fade away without explanation and let everyone convince themselves we 'drifted apart'," Ashley reasoned in her January essay. "But the feedback I've received since sharing my story has shown me that I'm far from the only mother who's been brought to tears by a group that's supposed to lift everyone up."
Despite this, Ashley has faced criticism. Matthew Koma—whose wife Hilary Duff had previously been linked to Ashley's supposed mom group—even parodied the essay's message on Instagram. "Read my new interview with @thecut," he captioned a fake magazine cover shared on his Instagram Story on Jan. 6, with the title of the faux article reading, "When You're The Most Self-Obsessed Tone-Deaf Person On Earth, Other Moms Tend To Shift Focus To Their Actual Toddlers."
Meanwhile, Dylan Efron—whose older brother Zac Efron worked with Ashley for years on the High School Musical franchise—admitted during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, "I honestly don't know what's going on."
"All I know is that Ashley, since I was a kid, has been so sweet to me," Dylan reasoned. "I can't envision her doing anything malicious to the mom group. So hopefully it's just a misunderstanding."
