Ireland Baldwin Calls Out ‘Poisonous’ And ‘Narcissistic’ Family Members In Explosive Essay

Ireland Baldwin is opening up about family turmoil, toxic relationships, and hard-earned lessons as she prepares to turn 30. In a candid new Substack essay titled “30, Flirty and Surviving,” the daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger reflected on her tumultuous upbringing and revealed that she’s cutting ties with what she called her “narcissistic, unreliable, addict family members.” The emotional post, which has quickly sparked headlines and online debate, gives fans an unfiltered look into Ireland Baldwin’s mindset as she steps into a new decade, one defined by boundaries, motherhood, and self-preservation.

In her essay, Ireland revealed she’s finally ready to let go of toxic family ties that weighed her down throughout her 20s. “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, choosing not to name names.

The model and new mom reflected on her upbringing, describing a lonely childhood shaped by divorce and distance. “I grew up without two parents in my home and no siblings to turn to," she admitted. "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.”

Ireland said realizing their toxicity was freeing, and she’s determined to break the cycle for her daughter, Holland. “For whatever reason, their validation and praise was meaningful to me. 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," she wrote. "My daughter doesn’t have to know these people and I can protect her from them. 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 Ireland didn’t name the “poisonous” relatives, her post hinted that her parents weren’t the ones being called out, noting that she has introduced Holland to both Alec and Kim.

Ireland's comments come years after a publicly strained relationship with her famous father. She is the only child of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, who were married from 1993 to 2002. Basinger later opened up about the fallout, telling The Edit by Net-A-Porter in 2016, “Divorce is hard on a kid, no matter how you cut it. And ours was very public and nasty. So I brought up Ireland in a very unconventional way. I just wanted her to be free. If she wanted to have her friends over and write over the walls with pen, that was fine. ... I wanted her childhood to be full of love and light and animals and friends.”

Years later, during a 2022 appearance with her daughter on "Red Table Talk," Basinger reflected on the challenges of co-parenting with Alec, telling host Jada Pinkett Smith that the two didn’t always see “eye to eye.” “Alec’s a funny one. We’re all fine and we all get along, whatever. But … he’s a challenge,” she admitted. “We’ve had our challenges. And I don’t think Alec was emotionally or mentally available for that kind of talk.”

Of course, fans still remember the explosive 2007 voicemail where Alec called his then-11-year-old daughter a “rude, thoughtless little pig” amid his bitter divorce from Kim. Kim denied leaking the recording, with her rep clarifying at the time that “the voicemail was not sealed under a court order.”

Over the years, Ireland learned to laugh off the incident, even poking fun in a 2015 Instagram post of her and Alec reading "If I Were A Pig." “If I Were A Pig... I would be Rude and Thoughtless, of course!” she joked, adding a snout emoji. And during a 2017 Comedy Central Roast of Alec, she delivered another zinger, saying, “He would never say something like that, because I'm 6'2" and I would kick his a-s."

Ireland now lives in Oregon with her musician partner, RAC, and their daughter, Holland. The couple recently sparked attention after she left Alec out of her Father’s Day tribute, instead spotlighting RAC and his dad, Arménio Anjos.

Despite the complicated past, Ireland appears focused on peace, healing, and protecting her little family. As she put it herself, she’s entering her 30s with “a lot less weight," and zero tolerance for narcissists.