Hilaria Baldwin was accused of pretending to be Spanish primarily because she had long presented herself with a Spanish accent, spoken about her Spanish heritage, and posted content suggesting she was from Spain. However, it emerged in 2020 that she was actually born in Boston, Massachusetts, to American parents, and her birth name is Hillary Hayward-Thomas. The controversy stemmed from inconsistencies in her story—she sometimes spoke with a Spanish accent and sometimes with an American one, and she appeared to claim Spanish roots that were not fully accurate. Baldwin later clarified that while she was born in Boston, she spent part of her childhood in Spain, has family living there, and identifies with both American and Spanish cultures. She said she embraces her bilingual background and uses the Spanish accent naturally as part of her mixed cultural identity. She apologized for any confusion and explained that her use of the accent and her Spanish identity is part of being bilingual and bicultural, not an attempt to be inauthentic. She also emphasized raising her children to be bilingual and proud of their Spanish heritage.
In summary, the "pretending" accusation came from perception and presentation inconsistencies, but Hilaria Baldwin explains it as part of her complex cultural identity, bilingual upbringing, and connection to Spain through family and time spent there—not as deliberate deception.
