Hilaria Baldwin defends 'Spanish' accent

Alec Baldwin's wife Hilaria has defended her controversial "Spanish" accent.

The former yoga instructor opened up in a preview for her new reality TV show, The Baldwins, which depicts herself and husband Alec Baldwin as they raise their seven children.

Hilaria had come under fire in the past for speaking in a "Spanglish" accent and seemingly forgetting the English words for items such as onions and cucumbers - despite having grown up as Hillary Hayward-Thomas in Boston, Massachusetts.

"I love English. I also love Spanish," she told the cameras. " And when I mix the two, it doesn't make me inauthentic. When I mix the two, that makes me normal!"

Hilaria's parents have lived in Majorca, Spain, since she was 28, after moving there in 2015.

"I'm raising my kids to be bilingual. I was raised bilingual. My nuclear family now lives over in Spain," she explained on The Baldwins.

"I want to teach my kids pride in speaking more than one language. I think just growing up and speaking two languages is extremely special."

In 2021, Hilaria apologised for not being "clear" enough about her heritage.

"The way I've spoken about myself and my deep connection to two cultures could have been better explained," she wrote in an Instagram post. "I should have been more clear and I'm sorry."