Alec Baldwinis supporting his wifeHilariaamid therecent controversyregarding her background.

Late last month, Hilaria, 37, began trending on Twitter as social media users — including journalist Tracie Morrissey and Twitter user @lenibriscoe — alleged that she has fabricated Spanish roots and a Spanish accent despite being born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Hilaria and Alec Baldwin in 2020.Patrick Mcmullan/Getty

alec and hilaria baldwin

Hilaria married Alec, 62, in 2012 and they share five kids together: sonsEduardo “Edu” Pao Lucas, 3 months,Romeo Alejandro David, 2,Leonardo Ángel Charles, 4,Rafael Thomas, 5, and 7-year-old daughterCarmen Gabriela.

Shefirst addressed the controversyin a video posted to her social media on Dec. 27, confirming that she was born in Boston and her birth name is Hillary.

Sheexplainedthat she occasionally “mixes” Spanish or English based on whichever she is speaking more frequently around that time and said that she “grew up spending time with my family between Massachusetts and Spain.”

“This is just who I am and my life story,” Hilaria said at the end of the clip. “It might not fit into your cookie-cutter and might not fit into a label, but it’s my weird mix of who I am.”

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin.Steven Ferdman/Getty

Alec and Hilaria Baldwin

A friend close to Hilaria tells PEOPLE that the recent revelation is shocking. “She loves speaking about her Spanish heritage and seemed to want people to believe that she is Spanish,” says the source.

“She wants the kids to know that they are half-Spanish. It’s been important to her that the kids speak Spanish. And they all have Spanish names,” adds the source.

Hilaria confirming that she was born in Boston is in contrast to what she has said in the past and what was previously listed on her Creative Artists Agency profile, which said she was born in Mallorca, Spain — where her parents now reside.

Additionally, as many on social media have pointed out, Hilaria has claimed she moved to the U.S. from Spain at age 19 to attend New York Universityin an April appearance on the #MomTruths podcast.

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Alec and Hilaria Baldwin in November 2019.ANGELA WEISS/Getty Images

Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Baldwin

TheMom Brainpodcast co-host has also frequently done media appearances speaking with a Spanish accent, including one onTodaywhen she seeminglystruggled to remember the English word “cucumber.”

She tried to further clarify the scandal in her video. “Yes, I am a white girl. Let’s be very clear that Europe has a lot of white people in there, and my family is white,” she said. “Ethnically I’m a mix of many, many things; culturally I grew up with the two cultures. It’s really as simple as that.”

Alec also defended his wife on Instagram last week,responding to one userwho questioned her background in a comment on a post he made sharing a Mark Twain quote: “She was born in Boston but grew up in Spain. You got it?”

source: people.com