Celebrity

Hilary Duff & Matthew Koma’s Relationship Timeline Is What Dreams Are Made Of

He has her name tattooed on his butt.

by Jake Viswanath and Stephanie Downs
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 12: (L-R) Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma attend the 5th Adopt Togeth...
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For many people, Hilary Duff’s life is what dreams are made of. The Disney alum has grown from the always relatable Lizzie McGuire to sitcom star, mother of three kids, and wife to musician Matthew Koma. With the second season of her latest show, How I Met Your Father, dropping on Jan. 24, viewers will likely be curious about her love life in 2023. Duff and Koma’s relationship timeline shows just how far these two have come, going from collaborating on music to celebrating three years of becoming Mr. and Mrs.

Duff and Koma met in 2015, when Koma worked with the “Come Clean” singer on her 2015 album Breathe In. Breathe Out. The pair didn’t start dating right away, but they had an instant connection. “They had great chemistry in the studio,” a source close to Duff told Us Weekly in 2017. “Hilary thinks Matt is very talented and cute.” Over seven years later, they’re standing strong as husband and wife.

After making their romance official in 2017, the couple got engaged in May 2019 before tying the knot that December. Now, Duff and Koma have two daughters together, 4-year-old Banks Violet Bair and 1-year-old Mae James Bair, joining Duff’s 10-year-old son Luca, who she had with her ex-husband Mike Comrie. With any luck, Duff will work with her husband on new music again at some point, making their relationship a full-circle moment.

2015: Koma Works On Duff’s Album

Duff first met Koma when they linked up in the studio in 2015, Together, they created three tracks for the singer’s fourth studio album Breathe In. Breathe Out: the title track, the EDM-influenced “Arms Around A Memory,” and Belinda Carlile-sampling pop anthem “Confetti.”

Duff spoke about the album’s title track, which she co-wrote with Koma, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in May 2015, making it clear just how special the song was to her. “Over the past few years of my life it’s just been something that really helped me — just taking a deep breath in and letting a deep breath out,” she said. “It can be a good thing, it can be a struggle, it can be a power thing — it’s just a good reminder for everyone to do that.”

January 2017: Duff & Koma’s Public Debut

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Duff and Koma made their first public red carpet appearance in January 2017, when they attended Entertainment Weekly’s pre-SAG Awards party at the Chateau Marmont, per E! News. While they didn’t outright confirm that they were an item, their actions spoke louder than words.

February 2017: Duff & Koma Become Instagram Official

One month after their red carpet appearance, Duff and Koma became Instagram official by posting a romantic photo during a tropical vacay. Later in February, she posted another Instagram photo from their vacation, captioning it with, “Take me back to Costa with him.”

March 2017: Duff & Koma Are Off Again

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According to E! News, the couple would have a brief blip in their relationship timeline, as they reportedly split in early March 2017. The publication reported that their breakup was due to the pair’s “busy schedules.”

October 2017: Duff & Koma Are On Again

Duff and Koma weren’t meant to be apart. In October 2017, Us Weekly reported that the pair was spotted hanging out together in Los Angeles amid speculation they were an item once again. Duff went on to confirm that they were back together during an appearance on The Talk in December 2017. She revealed that they had been off-again, on-again, and were once again giving their relationship another go.

March 2018: Duff & Koma Get A Dog

Just a few months after rekindling their romance, Duff and Koma expanded their family — by adopting a dog named Lucy. “Hey guys! We adopted an old dog,” Duff revealed on Instagram. “Thank you so much @loveleorescue #welovelucy.” Koma also shared Lucy on his Instagram “I Love Lucy and she … looks fairly indifferent towards me,” he captioned his post. “I will Ricky Ricardo her heart.”

June 2018: Duff & Koma’s First Pregnancy

The couple’s next relationship milestone happened in June 2018 when Duff revealed that she was pregnant with her second child, marking her first baby with Koma. Posting a photo with her baby bump on full display, she announced, “Guess what guys! @matthewkoma and I made a little princess of our own and we couldn’t be more excited!!!!!!”

October 2018: Duff & Koma Welcome Banks

On Oct. 28, 2018, Duff and Koma announced the birth of their baby, Banks Violet Bair, who was born three days prior on Oct. 25. Sharing the couple’s first photo with their newborn daughter on Instagram, Duff wrote, “Banks Violet Bair this little bit has fully stolen our hearts! She joined our world at home on Thursday afternoon and is absolute magic.”

May 2019: Duff & Koma Get Engaged

Months after welcoming baby Banks, Duff and Koma experienced yet another major relationship moment in May 2019 by announcing that they were engaged. Posting a selfie on Instagram with her ring taking center stage, the “So Yesterday” singer wrote, “He asked me to be his wife,” complete with a heart emoji.

December 2019: Duff & Koma Tie The Knot

Duff and Koma gave themselves the ultimate Christmas present on Dec. 21, when they got married in an intimate backyard ceremony at their home in front of only close family and friends. Duff announced the news in a clever Instagram post, sharing a photo of the couple posing in front of their vintage wedding getaway vehicle that says “just married” on the windshield, complete with cans attached to the car. She captioned the photo simply with: “This.”

The singer continued to post snapshots from their ceremony, calling it “the most magical day into night with the one that I love.” She also shared photos of her kids Luca and Banks participating in the ceremony. “Little girl cried up until we opened the front door and she knew we were walking towards her daddy and bruvvah,” she revealed.

May 2020: Their Engagement Anniversary

The couple celebrated the one-year anniversary of their engagement on May 7. Koma posted a sweet black-and-white selfie with the caption, “Asked my best friend to marry me a year ago today,” while Duff posted a slideshow of memories — including her gorgeous engagement ring. “Bubba, thanks for forcing me to go on that walk with you today (last year),” she wrote. “I love you so much. I will always choose sandwiches and 8 p.m. bedtimes over fancy date nights .... over and over again. My best friend, lover, and papa bear that can not be rivaled...it’s always been you.”

September 2020: Koma Gets Her Name Tattooed ... On His Butt

Some couples get matching tattoos or sentimental ink of their partner’s name close to their heart. Instead, Koma got his wife’s name tattooed on his bare bottom. “Good luck winning a fight with your wife when her name’s tattooed on your butt cheek,” he captioned the Instagram photo of the ink. For what it’s worth, Duff didn’t mind the gesture. “Finest tiniest booty around #youstucknowboy,” she commented.

October 2020: Duff Announces Baby No. 3

On Oct. 24, right before Banks’ first birthday, the couple announced that they were expecting their second child together, and Duff’s third, in an Instagram video. “We are growing!!! Mostly me ...,” she captioned a video of Koma cradling her baby bump.

December 2020: Duff Celebrates Their Wedding Anniversary

On Dec. 21, 2020, Duff commemorated her one-year anniversary with Koma by posting a photo of them chowing down in their ceremony gown and tux and recalling a funny story from their wedding day. “Matt and I were both too nervous to eat the day of our wedding,” she explained. “This is directly after... we slammed a plate of apps someone brought us before taking pictures and this pretty much sums us up ... Snacking through life, dreaming about dinner at 7 a.m. and wrangling kids. ... Always with you babe. For you. Over and over I choose you and this. Thank you for being a damn good man.”

March 2021: Duff & Koma Welcome Mae

On March 24, Duff and Koma welcomed their daughter Mae James Bair to the world. Duff announced the news two days later, captioning a photo of their older daughter Banks, “I’m a big sister ....... marinating on how I feel about that!” Two days later, she shared photos from Mae’s home birth, revealing that Banks helped her mom deliver Mae in an inflatable pool, with Koma and Luca present for support. “Mae James Bair- We LOVE you beauty 3-24-21,” she captioned the post.

September 2021: Koma Celebrates Duff’s 33rd Birthday

Before Duff’s 33rd birthday on Sept. 28, Koma paid tribute to his wife with a sweet, sentimental letter — and a very horny declaration. “Ba, I truly don’t know how you do it all — the backbone of our family and the Stevie of our Fleet,” he wrote. “I’m really the luckiest to get to do this life thing with you. Happy birthday to the greatest wifey, mom, and snacking partner there is… but also thank god you were born because we’d be so f*cked. Love you. Also my full body hive is better so we can bone down tonight.” Duff responded with laughter rather than repulsion: “Swoon. Thank god the FBH are gone because who would ever measure up to these love dedications?”

December 2021: Their 2nd Anniversary

Duff marked two years of marriage to Koma with an obligatory Instagram post full of photos and videos from their special day. “12.21.19 with the guy of my dreams,” she wrote. “Papa bear. Best friend. Good human. That’s all.” For his part, Koma wrote another heartfelt but humorous letter to the singer. “Two years of hypnosis and a good enough coffee game to convince this gem to stay married to me,” he wrote. “I don’t know what I got right in the last life, but I’m so hashtag grateful we get to grow, f*ck up, navigate, and #livelaughlove our way through Elon’s simulation together. Happy Anniversary ba. To many, many, many more. Mae just sh*t her pants.”

June 2022: Duff Greets Koma On Father’s Day

The Younger actor marked Father’s Day with a sweet Instagram dedication to the father-of-two. “You are the most supportive/understanding/funny/willing/kind/ father and bonus dad there is. There’s no way in hell I could do this without you,” she wrote, listing down the ways Koma aces fatherhood including grocery shopping “like the best wife,” packing “a mean lunch,” and doing “a great top knot.” She even added a cheeky, “You do it for me babe #HotDadFathersDay mmmm mmm mmm.”

July 2022: Duff Reveals How Koma Proposed

During an appearance on The Talk, Duff revealed new details about how Koma proposed, revealing that she almost stopped it from happening. “I came home from work on a random Tuesday, and he’s like ‘Let’s go for a walk. Let’s go check out this park,’” she recalled. “We were living in Williamsburg and I was like, ‘I’m so tired.’ I just wanted to eat dinner in bed and watch Game of Thrones, and he’s like ‘No, no, let’s go on a walk.’”

After she changed into sweatpants, Koma took her to a “gorgeous park” and gave her a book he had been making for the occasion. “He’s like ‘It’s our story,’ and he had this amazing guy, Shane, do all of these illustrations,” she said. “He was like, ‘We are going to forget things along the way so we need to constantly fill this out so our kids can know our story.’” Little did Duff know that there was a surprise waiting on the last page: her engagement ring. “He got down on one knee and he’s like, ‘I forget everything I’m supposed to say but you’re my best friend.’ It was so sweet,” she remembered.

December 2022: Their Third Anniversary

On their third anniversary, the pair celebrated each other on Instagram. Duff shared a series of couple photos with the caption, “I don’t know if you knew what you were getting into or that you weren’t going to sleep or sit down for the next 5-10 years but I think for the most part you’re pretty happy about it. Our life is so full and I’m over the top grateful for the guy that I got to do all this madness with.”

Meanwhile, Koma also posted on his account saying, “We crushed 3 years @hilaryduff. Anyone who says marriage is easy, hasn’t been married or is raging slightly too high a microdose. But the work is the best part.” In keeping with their humor, he added, “Thank you for raising our very cute and very unstable three kids. Thank you for being so hot and letting me do things to the body. It’s so sick.”

Koma also gave Duff a free pass to leave him for a “Harry.” “When you leave me for Harry, I’ll totally understand and I hope our kids get his fashion sense and that he loves going to sleep at 6pm as much as you,” he wrote. In the comments section, Duff clarified which Harry he was referring to. “He def means styles,” she told confused commenters.

Just days later, Duff shared their family’s holiday card on Twitter, which sees her and Koma tied up in chairs with their mouths taped shut as their three kids wreak havoc around them. “Happy Holidays!” she wrote as the caption.

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