Ireland Baldwin Recalls ‘Lonely Childhood,’ Slams ‘Narcissistic’ Family

“Nothing was more freeing than finally realizing how poisonous these people are,” the former model shares in a blog post, in which she criticized her “narcissistic, unreliable, addict family members.”

Ireland Baldwin is opening up about her upbringing — including her family life — ahead of her 30th birthday.

On Monday, the former model — who is the daughter of Alec Baldwin and his first wife Kim Basinger — shared a blog post on her Substack titled, “30, Flirty, and Surviving,” in which she reflected on her childhood, while also expressing some criticism toward her family, some of whom she called “narcissists.”

Alongside the title, Ireland, 29, described her post, “Turning 30, reflecting, and dodging my family of narcissists.”

“I move into 30 with a lot less weight on my shoulders. 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 wrote, per Us Weekly, saying she “grew up without two parents in my home and no siblings to turn to.”

“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,” she wrote, not naming names. “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,” added Ireland, who shares daughter Holland, 2, with boyfriend RAC. “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.”

Ireland is the only child of Alec, 67, and Basinger, 71. The former couple tied the knot in 1993, and split in 2000. Their divorce was finalized two years later. Ireland has seven half-siblings from her father’s marriage to Hilaria Baldwin. Alec and Hilaria share kids Carmen, 12, Rafael, 10, Leonardo, 8, Romeo, 7, Eduardo, 5, María, 4, and Ilaria, 2.

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She did not mention any family members by name in her blog post, but has recently been spotted with both of her parents, as well as Hilaria.

Ireland became a mom herself in 2023 when she and RAC– real name André Allen Anjos — welcomed their daughter in 2023. The couple has been dating since 2021.

In her post, Ireland looked back at the last decade, sharing that she experienced “10 years of pain,” and “10 years of not knowing what the hell I am doing or talking about, but still running my mouth anyway.”

She went on to share what the past 10 years taught her in a series of bullet points, writing, “Don’t be ashamed of who you really are. I wasted so much time pretending to be someone else for a partner, to get a job, to get s—ty people to like me, etc. I would give anything to get that time back.”

“You can’t change or fix anyone. Period. They have to want to change. And chances are they won’t. So quit while you’re ahead,” Ireland also wrote.

Ireland — who has been open about her battle with an eating disorder in the past — went on to add a reminder regarding her body image struggles, writing, “You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat. You are not fat.”

Elsewhere, Ireland shared a reminder for her Substack readers, appearing to reference Basinger.

“Tell your mom you love her every single day. Text her when you get to where you’re going. You will soon understand her in ways you never had,” she said.

Ultimately, Ireland ended her blog post on an optimistic note ahead of her milestone birthday.

“I can’t speak for the vastly, ever-changing world around me. I can only selfishly focus on my own road,” she said. “I hope to find my people. My village.”

Ireland resides in Oregon with RAC and their daughter.