Hilaria Baldwin left mouths agape when she publicly lambasted her husband Alec Baldwin during a recent red-carpet interview.

The awkward interaction – which instantly went viral on social media – saw Hilaria reprimand Alec for interrupting her as they discussed their fly-on-the-wall reality show, The Baldwins. ‘Oh my God. When I’m talking, you’re not talking,’ she snapped, doubling down when Alec apologised: ‘When I’m talking, you’re not talking.’ She then turned to the interviewer and quipped, ‘This is why we’ll just have to cut him out of the show.’

The yoga instructor, 41, faced extreme backlash about her conduct, namely for ‘humiliating’ her husband, 66, and displaying what many perceived to be ‘toxic femininity’. And, as people rushed to sympathise with the American actor – as well as imploring him to stand up for himself – insiders say that Alec is masking his true frustration.

A source reveals, ‘When Hilaria was telling Alec to shut up during her red-carpet interview, it was obvious he was close to blowing a gasket. And instead of admitting that her behaviour was beyond rude, she continued to defend herself. Alec is rolling with the punches, but deep down, he’s at boiling point. It’s taking all his acting skills not to show how frustrated he is. The fact is, Hilaria stomps all over him and clearly gets a big kick out of putting him down in public. His friends wonder how on earth he puts up with it.’

The source adds, ‘Hilaria’s got him in the palm of his hand and she’s too feisty and headstrong to argue with. Alec is in no position to walk away and nor does he want to, but this emasculated treatment makes for a miserable vibe behind the scenes.’

After the couple’s viral moment on the red carpet, they put on a united display for their Instagram followers, appearing to poke fun at – and justify – Hilaria’s comments.

Sharing a video of them in bed, Alec and Hilaria lip-synced the audio from the infamous interview, before the 30 Rock star defined the interaction as ‘manterrupting’, adding, when encouraged, that it was a ‘correctile dysfunction’.

Hilaria chimed, ‘The whole point is we interrupt each other all the time’ and then asked her husband of 12 years to give her a kiss, which they shared on camera.

One angry follower commented, ‘The word of the day is “rude”. You were rude to your husband!’ The sentiment was echoed by another, who wrote, ‘You were very rude to him! Emasculating.’

But others took the opportunity to praise their family dynamic, which has been captured, warts and all, on The Baldwins.

Of the busy family unit – which comprises of their seven children, Carmen, 11, Rafael, nine, Leonardo, eight, Romeo, six, Eduardo, four, Maria, four, two-year-old Ilaria, and eight pets – one fan wrote, ‘You guys are a beautiful family and I love the show. It’s so cute,’ with another gushing, ‘You two are great! The love for one another and your children is a beautiful thing. I like authenticity.’

But insiders say that three-time Golden Globe winner Alec has struggled to adapt to cameras capturing the ins and outs of their lives, particularly because of how it’s accentuated Hilaria’s negative demeanour towards him.

‘There’s a part of Alec that likes a strong woman, he wouldn’t have managed to stick it out with Hilaria all these years if that wasn’t the case,’ the insider shares. ‘But things have gotten ten times worse since they started the show. It’s like Hilaria is drunk on the power and attention of it all and she’s decided what people want to see is her treating Alec like dirt. He’s been pushed into a corner where he’s got no choice but to play this dynamic up. The problem is there’s no backing out of this show because it means everything to Hilaria.’

Following a brief engagement to actress Janine Turner in the 80s, Alec married first wife Kim Kasinger in 1993 after a few years of dating. After becoming parents to daughter Ireland, who is now 30, the couple separated in 2000 and their acrimonious divorce was finalised two years later. The New Yorker – who became a grandfather almost two years ago when Ireland welcomed a little girl – then found love with Hilaria in 2011, a time in his life when he wasn’t looking for love.

He recalled in February, ‘I had been married, got divorced. I dated another woman for off and on for quite a while. I’m like, “I don’t want to have a girlfriend. I don’t.” So when I met [Hilaria], I was really like, “Oh, God. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this.” But I mean, I fell madly in love with her.’

Elsewhere, Hilaria – who married Alec in 2012 when she was 28 and he was 54 – also weighed in on the early days of their romance, remembering how her husband took things slowly by waiting six weeks to kiss her.

She said, ‘He shook my hand, which was fine. No hug, nothing. He was very respectful.’

Meanwhile, it has been a troubling few years for Hollywood star Alec. In 2021, while on the set of Rust, he discharged a gun being used as a prop, which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Last summer, a judge dismissed the involuntary manslaughter case against him, after discovering that the state had withheld evidence on how live rounds ended up on the set.

And sources say that considering everything Alec has been through, the last thing he needs is Hilaria ‘tearing into him’.

The insider says, ‘Unfortunately for Alec, things are likely only going to get worse for him because Hilaria is convinced that people want to see her berating him. He’s always been under her thumb. But a lot of Alec’s friends him as this very tough guy who doesn’t take c**p from anyone, so it’s very hard for people to imagine that he won’t eventually snap. He’s had such a hard year – the last thing he needs is to have everyone mocking him.’