Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Are Actually “Disappointed” by One of Their Most Popular Nicknames

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen may have been fine with being called “The Girls” when they were starring in films like Holiday in the Sun, but now — at 37 years old with thriving careers in fashion — they’re ready for the world to move on.

Speaking about the development in a rare interview with the Financial Times, Mary-Kate opened up about her “disappointment” with the nickname (and its variations) when talking about why she and her sister choose to stay largely out of the public eye.

“There’s certain words. Like referring to my sister and I as ‘the Olsen twins’ or ‘The Twins’ or ‘The Girls,’” The Row co-founder said. “We’re 37 years old. We have had very interesting lives. We work together. We’re business partners. We’re sisters. I think that’s the first thing that comes to mind.”

She continued, “How many other people are called ‘the girls’ when they’re designing? I think that’s where the disappointment comes from. And that’s why we feel like the product should just speak for itself.”

Mary-Kate also touched on why this fear of their story being told “wrongly” makes her and Ashley hesitant to do interviews, adding, "We’re just private people. We’ve done interviews our whole life and, no offense, but I don’t know how this conversation is going to go. So, after years of that, you just choose to stop talking to people if it’s not going to translate.” 

But while the Olsens may want their private lives to remain private, Ashley wasn’t shy about highlighting the efforts they’ve put into their thriving fashion empire, The Row, elsewhere in the interview.

“I mean, at 18, we decided to go to school and see what the world had to offer, and we started a company together in 2006, and have been in business for almost 20 years,” she shared. “I think everyone knows that this industry is extremely, extremely difficult. And we started with just the two of us … One step at a time.”

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