Adrienne Bailon-Houghton Reveals Her Mom’s Life Advice That Helps Combat Social Media Hate (Exclusive)

Adrienne Bailon-Houghton is not here for the haters.

The Cheetah Girls alum, 42 — who, along with mom Nilda Felix, partnered with Finish to celebrate the launch of the cleaning brand’s Finish Ultimate Quantum — exclusively tells First for Women that her mother’s wise words have been invaluable.

“Life advice that I think she’s helped me with would be: Don’t take things personal from people who don’t know you personally,” Bailon-Houghton says.

“In a world of social media, you cannot let the people in the comments tell you who you are,” the actress explains. “Know who you are based on the people that love you, that surround you with love, that are like, ‘Girl, I know you, and I like you.’”

As for the trolls on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok and X, Bailon-Houghton points out, “These people do not know you. They don’t have a foot to stand on and tell you what they like about you.”

“Keep it pushing,” she says to those who bring nothing but negativity. “Do not listen to people who do not know you. You can’t take it personal if they don’t know you personally!”

Bailon-Houghton has been in the spotlight for a long time, joining the girl group 3LW (which also included Kiely Williams and Naturi Naughton) as a teenager. She then made her way to the Disney Channel, on which she starred alongside Raven-Symoné in the Cheetah Girls film franchise.

Her mom has been with her through it all — with Felix even accompanying her on the sets of the Cheetah Girls films — so the singer says she “learned so many things” along the way.

As for the “practical advice she’s given me,” Bailon-Houghton says her mother taught her “not to let the house get too far gone in a mess,” which has “really helped my mental well-being.”

“Simple things like teaching me [to] clean as you go along,” Bailon-Houghton says, “has been great for me — just [with] my mental space, especially now having a son and running a household of my own. I think things that are organized and in place allow me to live a better life in my head.”

Cleaning is key for Bailon-Houghton and her mother, who are also hosting the Finish Cookbook Club, which pairs creating new recipes with tips and tricks on how to clean up.

Calling their partnership a “game-changer,” Bailon-Houghton says she’s actually put her mom “onto something that now she’s telling all her girlfriends, ‘Trust me, you absolutely need this.’”