Highlights:
- Ireland Baldwin details cutting ties with “narcissistic, unreliable, addict family members” in a new essay
- Reflects on a lonely childhood and lessons in self-preservation
- Emphasizes protecting her daughter and building her own vision of family
Confronting family challenges
Ireland Baldwin, daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, has opened up about difficult family relationships as she approaches her 30th birthday. In a candid essay titled “30, Flirty and Surviving” on Substack, she described stepping away from relatives she considers toxic.
“I move into 30 with a lot less weight on my shoulders,” Baldwin wrote. “This weight that was brought on by the need to continue to carry my narcissistic, unreliable, addict family members who I thought I needed in my life.” She did not name specific relatives.
Reflections on childhood and independence
Baldwin also reflected on her upbringing, noting periods of loneliness and distance between her parents. “I grew up without two parents in my home and no siblings to turn to,” she admitted. “I had a lonely childhood at times, which is why I grew up feeling like I needed to win over certain people in my own family.”
Realizing the harmful impact of these relationships, she said, was liberating. “Nothing was more freeing than finally realizing how poisonous these people are. So I inch into my thirties with an understanding that this is how you break these cycles. My daughter doesn’t have to know these people, and I can protect her from them.”
Moving forward and focusing on family
Baldwin highlighted the importance of building her own definition of family and protecting her daughter, Holland. She confirmed that her parents, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, remain part of her daughter’s life.
Her essay comes years after public disputes with her father, including the widely circulated 2007 voicemail where Alec Baldwin called her a “rude, thoughtless little pig” during his divorce from Kim Basinger. Ireland has since addressed the incident with humour in public appearances and social media posts.
A focus on healing and self-preservation
Now living in Oregon with her musician partner RAC and their daughter, Baldwin appears focused on peace and self-care. She recently left her father out of a Father’s Day tribute, instead highlighting RAC and his father, Arménio Anjos.
“I’m entering my 30s with a lot less weight, and zero tolerance for narcissists,” Baldwin wrote, signalling a clear boundary-setting approach as she steps into the next decade of her life.
