Ashley Tisdale French got candid about changing her last name after marrying her husband, Christopher French.
“I finally launched By Ashley French,” the High School Musical alum, 40, shared in an Instagram video on Tuesday, November 18, referring to her updated lifestyle brand and website. “I’ve never really been this intimate before, but I have so much to talk about, especially now in my 40s, having my kids, being a parent, running a company.”
The actress went on to explain that she had been going by “Ashley French for so long at home” — and finally decided to publicly change her name.
“But I really never changed publicly because everyone knows me as Ashley Tisdale,” she told her followers. “I just felt like it was time for people to know me for me and not just a character or a celebrity.”
Ashley noted that “for so long” she’s “shared so much of [her] life on social media” and felt that “Instagram has changed a lot.”
“We should be honest, at this point, you don’t know what’s real, what’s a bot, and everyone has something to say, and it might not be positive,” she explained. “Not that I want to block out the negativity, it felt like to protect my peace, I didn’t want to keep sharing in that way.”
Ashley — who tied the knot with Christopher, 43, in 2014 — welcomed daughters Jupiter and Emerson in 2021 and 2024, respectively.
Since becoming a mom, Ashley has continued to be open about her motherhood journey — even talking about the “amazing transition” her family experienced following the birth of their second child.
“Jupiter is just such a great big sister, and she really is obsessed with her little sister, so much to where I have to be, like, ‘Boundaries, Juju!’” she exclusively told Luxury Handbag Shopping in a March interview. “I think it’s just been a really easy transition for all of us.”
Ashley also noted that she felt “so much more confident” as a mom after welcoming Emerson.
“[With] your first one, you really have no idea what [it’s] going to entail and what that looks like and how to do things. And you’re so nervous. … With the second, you just feel so much more confident,” she explained to Us, adding that Emerson has been “sleeping through the night” since she was around 3 months old. “She really is such an easy baby. She’s so cute. She really has just made [our] family feel very complete.”
One thing that makes Ashley feel “more confident” in motherhood is also her relationship with her husband because they “balance each other out.”
“There are times where Chris is really the fun parent and I might be a little more strict. And then, there’s times where he’s a little bit more strict with scheduling, and I’m a really fun parent,” she said. “We have such a great foundation. We do have different parenting styles sometimes, and I think that’s great. I think that’s awesome. But you kind of have to start to get on the same page in some areas. … Now with Emerson, we both know how we are and what to do.”
