Ireland Baldwin criticises ‘narcissistic’ family while reflecting on ‘lonely childhood’

Wednesday, 22 October 2025

Ireland Baldwin has shared a candid reflection on her childhood and personal growth ahead of her 30th birthday, saying she is entering a new decade with a stronger sense of independence and clarity.

In her Substack blog titled 30, Flirty, and Surviving, the model and actress described her upbringing as “lonely,” noting she grew up without both parents in one home or any siblings.

Her parents, actors Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, divorced in 2002 after a long and public custody battle.

“I grew up without two parents in my home and no siblings to turn to,” she wrote.

“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.

“For whatever reason, their validation and praise was meaningful to me.”

Baldwin said she has learned to let go of the pressure to maintain relationships with relatives she found harmful, writing that she is moving into her thirties “with a lot less weight on my shoulders” after years of carrying “narcissistic, unreliable, addict family members”.

She did not name anyone specifically.

Now a mother herself to two-year-old daughter Holland, whom she shares with musician RAC (real name André Allen Anjos), Ireland said she is focused on creating a more positive environment for her child.

“My daughter doesn’t have to know these people, and I can protect her from them,” she wrote.

“I can do my very best to construct my own idea of a family, piece by piece. And show how a real family treats one another.”

While her reflections were frank, Baldwin’s relationship with her father appears to have improved in recent years.

In April, she posted a cheerful photo of Alec Baldwin holding his granddaughter to mark his 67th birthday, writing, “Happy birthday to Peepaw. I’m so glad you were born. Because of your born-ness, I was born-ed. I love you.”

Alec has also spoken publicly about the challenges of maintaining a relationship with his daughter during his divorce, saying that the custody battle had a lasting impact.

“I must say that because my relationship with my daughter Ireland was so negatively impacted by my divorce from her mother and having a very protracted custody battle that the media really were having a party about everything,” he explained earlier this year on his reality show The Baldwins.

Concluding her post, Baldwin wrote that she feels “hopeful” as she moves into her thirties. “I can only selfishly focus on my own road,” she said.

“I hope to find my people. My village.”