Hilaria Baldwin shares marriage lesson she tells friends after surviving ‘ups and our downs’ with Alec Baldwin

After more than 15 years together, seven children and no shortage of public challenges, Hilaria Baldwin says one simple lesson has kept her marriage to Alec Baldwin intact.

The “Nation’s Dumbest” contestant shared the relationship advice she now gives friends as they navigate rocky moments of their own.

“Oh, it’s been more than 15 years. We met February 2011. You both have to want to be there,” Baldwin told Fox News Digital. 

“Whenever my friends are coming to me, and they’re like it’s a new relationship, or they’re having a bump in it, I say, if both people don’t really want to be there through your difficult moments, through your best moments, then it’s just not going to probably work out,” the TV personality explained.

“Both Alec and I, through our ups and our downs and our sideways, we’ve wanted to be there. And I think that that’s what’s kept us strong.”

Baldwin admitted there is no such thing as a perfectly planned date night, especially with seven kids.

“Well, last night it involved taking our youngest with us to dinner because that’s what it was,” she remarked.

“So, I brought my youngest. … And I have a babysitter throughout the day, and then at night, no, so we’re like, we want to go out to dinner. And so, the baby comes with us.”

The candid comments come as Baldwin swapped parenting duties for pop quizzes on FOX’s new celebrity competition series, “Nation’s Dumbest.”

The mom of seven joins an eclectic celebrity lineup on FOX’s competition show, “Nation’s Dumbest,” which includes Carmen Electra, Anthony Michael Hall, Ice-T, Elle King, Matt Leinart, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Steve-O, JoJo Siwa, Andrew Yang and more.

“Nation’s Dumbest” flips the traditional competition format on its head.

Instead of chasing first place, celebrities compete to avoid earning the title of the “Nation’s Dumbest.”

Away from the classroom-inspired chaos, Baldwin also pushed back on what she says is one of the biggest misconceptions about her.

“I think that people think, especially women, are very calculated. I think that that’s something that’s universal around all of us,” she told Fox News Digital.

“I want to try everything, I’m curious. So, I feel like if people just kind of looked at me a little bit more of, like, ‘She’s kind of a mess, like a fun mess,’ and like some stuff comes together.”

She said that the unpredictable side of her personality also made filming “Nation’s Dumbest” an entertaining experience because she never knew how she’d perform.

“That was always fun about the first part of ‘Nation’s Dumbest,’ … Some of the moments — I’m like, I don’t have a plan, but sometimes whatever I’m doing, it works out. It was fun to watch because I was like, I feel like that’s the way that my life is. It just kind of, I fall into things sometimes, and then sometimes I fall over very badly, and it’s a big mess in front of the world, and it’s fine.”

For Baldwin, embracing imperfection has become a theme both on screen and at home.

While she may not always have a plan, she believes staying committed through life’s twists has made all the difference in her family and marriage.

Hilaria and Alec share seven children — daughters Carmen, Maria and Ilaria, and sons Rafael, Leonardo, Romeo and Eduardo. Alec is also the father of daughter Ireland Baldwin, whom he shares with ex-wife Kim Basinger. The actor became a first-time grandfather in 2023 after Ireland welcomed her first child, daughter Holland.