Hilaria Baldwin has returned to Instagram to apologise following the controversy over allegedly faking her Spanish heritage.
The yoga teacher, who is married to Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin, was engulfed by a social media storm over Christmas after it was claimed she had spent years faking a Spanish accent.
In one viral clip, Baldwin appeared to struggle to recall the English word for cucumber. It later emerged she was born Hillary Hayward-Thomas in Boston to American parents.
Baldwin, 37, has now returned to Instagram, sharing a picture of herself with 62-year-old Alec and their five young children and telling fans “I’m sorry”.
She wrote: “I’ve spent the last month listening, reflecting, and asking myself how I can learn and grow. My parents raised my brother and me with two cultures, American and Spanish, and I feel a true sense of belonging to both.
“The way I’ve spoken about myself and my deep connection to two cultures could have been better explained – I should have been more clear and I’m sorry. I’m proud of the way I was raised, and we’re raising our children to share the same love and respect for both.”
Late last year at the height of the controversy Baldwin accused critics of “misrepresenting” her and told the New York Times there is a “difference between hiding and creating a boundary”.
She said her American parents loved Spain and took her there on holiday from an early age, creating deep ties to the country.
Writing in her latest Instagram post, Baldwin, who married Alec in 2012, added: “Being vulnerable and pushing ourselves to learn and grow is what we’ve built our community on, and I hope to get back to the supportive and kind environment we’ve built together.”
