Hilary Duff Says Chad Michael Murray Is Her Favorite Love Interest

Like all of us, Hilary Duff still has a small crush on Chad Michael Murray. During her interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the singer was asked about her favorite onscreen love interest, and given the choices of Murray’s Austin Ames in A Cinderella Story, Penn Badgley’s Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl, and Yani Gellman’s Paolo Valisari in The Lizzie McGuire Movie.

“I'm just going to stick to it, because I just watched it with my daughter, and it’s embarrassing that she always wants to watch it,” she said. “I'm going to say Chad Michael Murray.” Naturally, the crowd screamed in agreement.

“It was the slow walk up the bleachers, and the rain drop,” she added, nodding to the pivotal moment where Austin finally has the guts to publicly proclaim his love for Duff’s character. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is romantic!’”

In A Cinderella Story, Duff played “Diner Girl” Sam Montgomery, a high school senior who went to the school dance against her evil stepmom-slash-boss Jennifer Coolidge’s wishes and had her princess moment with Austin Ames, whom she had been secretly messaging with under pen names. But in true Cinderella fashion, she left her phone behind, leading Austin to search for her identity.

Despite her answer, Duff still takes issue with the fact that Austin didn’t recognize Sam under her masquerade mask, like most viewers — including her daughter Mae.

“My 4-year-old has watched this movie and also picked up on like, how could he not know it's you in that mask? And I was like, ‘It's the age-old question, honey,’” she told Vanity Fair in January. “And she's like, ‘But it's you. You are right there. I don't understand. How does he not know?’ I'm like, 'I know.’”

Hilary’s Other Pick

When Harper’s Bazaar asked Duff a similar question earlier this month, she actually went with a different pick, admitting, “I think I’m gonna say Aaron Carter.” The late singer guest-starred as himself on her breakout TV series Lizzie McGuire when they were both just 13 years old in 2001, and they famously started dating in real life soon after.

“I was just at peak age of a kiss being exciting,” she recalled. “We were so silly and dumb and young that it just felt very innocent and butterflies and all of those feelings.”

However, Duff was quick to clarify that Carter wasn’t a serious relationship for Lizzie, laughingly pointing out, “Not even a love interest, just a kiss.”