Hilary Duff details how she protected her children’s mental health amid divorce

Hilary Duff was still married to her first husband Mike Comrie when she began recording her fifth studio album, Breathe In. Breathe Out.

The 38-year-old former Disney Channel star and the 45-year-old retired NHL centre went on to separate in 2014 after less than four years of marriage, but their divorce wasn't finalized until 2016.

“It just got to a point where it wasn't going to be,” Duff said on Call Her Daddy.

She continued, “I think he was good with it because I was like, ‘Here's this, this, this.’ And he was like, ‘Great.’ This was before conscious uncoupling was a thing.”

“My parents went through such a bad divorce that calling it made it really painful, but like, we are not together anymore, so obviously it was bad enough that it just wasn't working,” the former TV star recalled.

The Luck... or Something singer added: “I'm not just like, ‘I up and left.’ It was a collaborative thing that needed to happen. But you gotta fight for yourself and it doesn't matter that you have kids. Your kids are going to be okay.”

Recalling how her divorce went, she stated, “I remember doing everything in my power to have it be peaceful and have us hanging out and spending time together. Every time we would trade, it wouldn't just be a drop off, pick up situation, we would go to the park and hang or go have a meal. It was really important to me to do it in a way that Luca could feel comfy.”

Duff continued: “It was a really scary time to just not want to f**k up your kid. You put all of your stuff aside and I had to deal with all of that later to just make sure that he was okay.”

The Mature songstress “had a lot of therapy” while juggling dating personal trainer Jason Walsh and Love Machine co-founder Ely Sandvik before settling down with 38-year-old Koma (born Bair) in 2017.

The married couple of six years are raising three daughters - Banks, seven, Mae, four, and Townes, 21 months.