Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma are one adorable couple. Athough their relationship hasn’t been the ~easiest~, it’s been worth it for them—because a couple of breakups and two children later, this pair is stronger than ever.
Matthew, like Hilary, is a singer, songwriter, and producer (and TBH, he’s a bit reminiscent of Josh on Hilary’s show, Younger). While the couple met in 2013, they didn’t start dating until 2017. (Hilary divorced ex-husband Mike Comrie, with whom she shares her first child, Luca Cruz Comrie, in 2016.)
Here’s everything to know about Hilary and Matthew’s ‘ship, including how they met, what their relationship was like, and details on their children.
Early 2013: Matthew and Hilary meet while collaborating on her album.
V romantic, if you ask me! The pair met for the first time while working together on Hilary’s 2015 album, Breathe In. Breathe Out., per Vogue. Matthew wrote and produced some songs for Hilary’s label, and when she heard the demos, she got lunch with him in L.A. They ended up talking for two hours, the outlet wrote.
“There wasn’t an instant spark, because I think when you’re walking into a professional meeting, you know nothing about the other person,” she told Vogue. “And then when we started talking about music, things started sparking and he was being funny enough, not flirtatious, but funny enough to where we started creating a banter and a nice friendship right off the bat.”
Early 2017: Matthew and Hilary begin dating.
The pair made their first public appearance at Entertainment Weekly‘s SAG Awards pre-party, per PEOPLE.
Then, they vacationed together in Costa Rica on Valentine’s Day. He posted two polaroid pictures side-by-side on Instagram with the caption: “2-14-17.”
March 2017: Hilary and Matthew break up.
It’s unclear what caused a rift, but the couple briefly called it quits in 2017, a month after Matthew’s cute IG post, according to PEOPLE.
October 2017: Hilary and Matthew get back together, and she celebrates her birthday with him.
“Since Matt got back from tour, they’ve been seeing each other again,” a source told E! News at the time. “Him being gone on tour was the main reason things didn’t work out the first time around so now that he’s back they picked up right where they left off.”
Hilary posted an Instagram carousel of pics and videos of the night a few days later.
December 2017: Hilary opens up about their off-and-on relationship.
Hilary appeared on The Talk in December 2017, not long after she got back together with Matt for the third time, US Weekly reported. On the show, she blamed their past breakups on timing.
“I think that you have history and a past with someone and love, and just because it doesn’t work out the first time, the second time,” she continued, “as long as there’s not too much damage done, then, it can always work out again.”
Sure, 2017 may have been rough for the duo, but it seems it’s been bliss ever since. “Third time’s the charm!” she joked on the show.
March 2018: They adopt a dog together. (Aww!)
The couple adopted an older dog from Love Leo Rescue in Los Angeles. “Hey guys! We adopted an old dog❤️ thank you so much @loveleorescue #welovelucy,” Hilary captioned her post.
Unfortunately, this came after Matthew lost his own dog, Marms, in September of 2017. ICYMI, he’s a serious dog lover.
June 3, 2018: Hilary throws Matthew a bowling-themed birthday party.
“Birthday party thrown by my babe. Bowling. All my loves. ❤️thank you for the best day,” Matthew wrote to caption his IG photo. (If you read the comments, this is when fans started speculating that Hilary was pregnant!)
Hilary shared that her mother was in attendance and talked about some sweet comments she made two days later in an interview with E! News. “My mom was at Matt’s birthday and she was like, ‘I just love him. I love him so much. He’s the best.’ I’m like, ‘I’m here. I exist, you know? You’re always on my side!'”
June 8, 2018: The couple announces they’re expecting a baby.
And it’s a girl! “Guess what guys! @matthewkoma and I made a little princess of our own and we couldn’t be more excited!!!!!!🤰🏼👶🏼🎀” she captioned her post.
Matthew posted the same pic, with an equally cute caption: “We made a baby girl! She will be as beautiful and sweet as her mother… @hilaryduff another incredible chapter begins.”
October 25, 2018: Their first daughter is born.
The couple announced the birth of their daughter, Banks Violet Bair, via another super-adorable post. “This little bit has fully stollen our hearts!” Hilary wrote.
Hilary also indicated that she gave birth at home, saying: “She joined our world at home on Thursday afternoon and is absolute magic.”
Matthew posted the same photo, with the caption: “Banks Violet Bair /// 10.25.18 /// We welcome a beautiful daughter, little sister, and best friend for life. Could not possibly be more grateful for our growing family and for the 🍊 who makes it all possible. Cloud ten.”
Matthew apparently commemorated the birth of his daughter by getting a haircut, and then dying his hair…pink, according to several IG posts. Pretty cute, if you ask me!
April 21, 2019: Hilary and Matthew stay strong during the newborn months.
Based on her Instagram posts, Hilary and Matthew seemed to make a great team after Banks was born. Hilary frequently shared posts of the whole family spending quality time together.
May 2019: Matthew pops the question.
After two years of on-and-off dating, Matthew asked Hilary to marry him! The actress posted this sweet engagement photo, captioning it: “He asked me to be his wife♥️”
He proposed near their New York apartment, Vogue reported. She had had a long day at work, but since the pair loves to take walks together, they went on one. According to Hilary, he told her, “Let’s just get out and chat and catch up, there’s this new park I want to take you to, and it’s supposed to be gorgeous,” she told the outlet.
“All of a sudden he says, ‘I’ve been working on something for you, and you’re going to love it. I really want our kids to know our story and now we can keep adding to this book’.” He then pulled out a notebook full of sketches of them of their little love story—on the last page was a ring. She continued to say that it started raining after, and that “it was perfect.” And that’s how I met your father, kids.
November 2019: Matthew gets a tattoo in honor of their family.
He took to Instagram to show off his new ink in a photo of his arm. “Luca (7) and Banks (1) holding hands just after her 1st birthday. Thank you @curtmontgomerytattoos for engraving my kids,” he wrote.
December 2, 2019: He calls Hilary a “super hero.”
A few weeks before their wedding, Matthew got mushy in an Instagram post, thanking his then-fiancée for everything she does for him and their family.
Matthew wrote, “She’s a super hero and I am eternally grateful. Thank you for holding down the fort, doing the hardest job & making it look easy. 🖤.” And Hilary playfully hopped in the comments, writing back, “Swoon ❤️ but seriously come home…. homework hour is hard af.”
December 22, 2019: They tie the knot during a quiet ceremony in LA.
The ceremony took place at their home in L.A., and was officiated by Hilary’s Younger co-star, Molly Bernard, and actor Chris Mintz-Plasse, per PEOPLE. A source told the outlet it was “small and low-key,” with just family and close friends invited.
“The ceremony started at sunset and they got married inside the house. When the ceremony was over, guests cheered. The reception was in a white tent in the backyard,” they added.
The How I Met Your Father actress posted a photo of Matthew and herself at the wedding. The two posed in front of a vintage station wagon with the words, “just married” written on the back window. Hilary posted the photo with a simple, one-word caption writing, “This.”
January 2020: Hilary and Matthew go on their honeymoon.
They headed off to South Africa for their honeymoon, going on safaris and spotting allll the animals, Duff told PEOPLE. “Honeymooning with my honey. Already seen the big 5 and had so many naps. Doesn’t get better than this….” she captioned the photo she posted on IG.
September 2020: Matthew gets another tattoo in honor of Hilary…on his butt.
If that’s not loyalty, IDK what is. He, of course, took to IG to reveal the tat: “Good luck winning a fight with your wife when her name’s tattooed on your butt cheek. #squats #gainz #laseraway,” he wrote.
October 2020: Hilary and Matthew announce they’re expecting baby No. 2.
Hilary took to IG to tell everyone the big news, posting a cute video of Matthew patting her belly with the caption: “We are growing!!! Mostly me …”
March 24, 2021: The pair welcomes their second kid.
June 2022: Hilary wishes Matthew a happy Father’s Day.
…With a looong paragraph detailing her love for him and a carousel of photos of Matthew with their children.
“Thanks for also making me a girl mom @matthewkoma you are the most supportive/understanding/funny/willing/kind/ father and bonus dad there is,” she wrote. “There’s no way in hell I could do this without you. I love the way you look at our kids in amazement with every little or big thing they do, I love how you pedal as fast as you can to make it home by 6 every night, I love how you wouldn’t change some of our toughest days with these creatures,” she wrote in the first half of the caption.
September 2022: Matthew wishes Hilary a happy 35th birthday.
“‘It’s truly unreal how fucking hot you are. Like it blows my mind. I may need to see the booty.’ – A.L. happy birthday to my hero. we are the luckiest to love you and be loved by you. thank you for tolerating us and finding the patience after a long day to listen to me talk about songwriters who recently passed and pretending to care deeply ( rip Pat DiNizio ),” Matthew wrote as part of his caption, quoting the Adam Levine cheating scandal at the beginning, which is…an interesting move.
December 2022: They celebrate their third wedding anniversary.
“Matthew. I love you so much,” Hilary wrote.
“Happy 3 years! I don’t know if you knew what you were getting into or that you weren’t going to sleep or sit down for the next 5-10 years but I think for the most part you’re pretty happy about it. Our life is so full and I’m over the top grateful for the guy that I got to do all this madness with.”
I love to see these crazy kids winning.
Addison Aloian (she/her) is an editorial assistant at Women’s Health. When she’s not writing about all things pop culture, health, beauty, and fashion, she loves hitting leg day at the gym, shopping at Trader Joe’s, and watching whichever hockey game is on TV. Her work has also appeared in Allure, StyleCaster, L’Officiel USA, V Magazine, and Modern Luxury Media.
Assistant Editor
Alexis Jones is an assistant editor at Women’s Health where she writes across several verticals on WomensHealthmag.com, including life, health, sex and love, relationships and fitness, while also contributing to the print magazine. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University, lives in Brooklyn, and proudly detests avocados.
