Hilaria Baldwin opened up about being misunderstood by the public ever since she got married to husband Alec Baldwin.
“I’ve been trying to clear up misconceptions — it is like I’m the best cleaner in the world — since I met my husband and I entered the public world,” Hilaria, 42, exclusively told Us while promoting Fox’s new show Nation’s Dumbest.
The experience taught Hilaria an important lesson.
“This is what you do. Stop proving things. Just be who you are. The right people are going to see you. And the people who are not going to see you, they didn’t want to anyway,” she noted. “There’s nothing you can do to change that because that’s on them.”
Hilaria continued: “What they’re seeing is actually their own reflection. So at this point, it is what it is. I am who I am. I’m going to forget things. I’m going to know things. I’m not going to know other things. And maybe we’re all surprised — including me — about some of the things that I can somehow pull out of my mind.”
Alec, 68, and Hilaria tied the knot in 2012. They have since welcomed seven children: Carmen Gabriela, 12, Rafael Thomas, 11, Leonardo Ángel Charles, 9, Romeo Alejandro David, 8, Eduardo “Edu” Pao Lucas, 5, María Lucía Victoria, 5, and Ilaria Catalina Irena, 3.
After being thrust into the public eye, Hilaria has gotten to show her authentic self in projects such as Dancing With the Stars, The Baldwins and now Nation’s Dumbest.
“I have moments where I’ll have conversations with myself and I’m like, ‘Hilaria, what’s wrong with you? Why do you put yourself in these situations?’ And I think it is curiosity and that I do believe that people are inherently good,” she said about remaining in the spotlight despite online negativity. “And I do believe that even though the negative can feel loud, there’s so much more good.”
Hilaria has prioritized working on herself, adding, “I want to be a better person every day. And when I put myself in these experiences, I grow and I learn and I think I make myself a better person. Can I be dramatic sometimes? 100 percent. Will I do it again? Yes, I will be dramatic again. But at the same time, I am somebody where I wear my heart on my sleeve. You only live once, you might as well make it count.”
While speaking with Us, Hilaria admitted that she has still faced challenges — including with Nation’s Dumbest.
“I was a student that had to work really hard [when I was in school]. So I have ADHD and dyslexia and I was very ashamed of this at different times,” she recalled. “I wasn’t the most social person and I would just have to work much harder than the average person. Doing a show like this was a little scary for me, to be honest, because I think that I’ve grown so much. But I definitely had my moments where I’m like, ‘Oh no, all the trauma’s coming back.’”
Nation’s Dumbest airs on Fox Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

