Making new friends isn’t a priority for Westchester County mom of one Diana Caceres.
She’s got a built-in bestie in her 18-year-old daughter, Amani.
Rather than vying for the fickle affections of would-be gal pals around the neighborhood or working to rekindle relationships with buddies from her past, the 38-year-old singleton prefers having at-home spa days and Netflix movie nights with the only person she truly trusts.
“When it comes to friends, my daughter is literally the only one who’s honestly there for me no matter what,” Caceres — a lifestyle content creator, who became pregnant with Amani at age 19 — told The Post. “Most of the time, we’d rather spend time hanging out with each other than other people.”
For moms like Caceres, taking a hard pass on buddying up with other adults to instead develop unfailing friendships with their brood isn’t uncommon.
In fact, A-lister Angelina Jolie recently lauded her sextet as her most trustworthy comrades.
“They are the closest people to me and my life,” the 48-year-old “Eternals” star told WSJ. Magazine of kids Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 18, Shiloh, 17, and 15-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne.
“They’re my close friends,” added Jolie, explaining that her tribe has become tighter since she filed for divorce from ex Brad Pitt, 59, in 2016.
“We’re seven very different people,” she said, “which is our strength.”
The Oscar winner’s sentiments towards her close-knit clan echo those of her fellow Hollywood royals such as Reese Witherspoon, 47, and Heidi Klum, 50, who’ve each regarded their kids as best friends, too.
Klum and her 19-year-old, Leni, have even pushed the boundaries of mommy-and-me bosom buddies to eye-popping extremes, posing together in lacy lingerie.
“We celebrate . . . the love and support between mother and daughter,” the supermodel penned, in part, in the Instagram caption of her and Leni’s hot shots.
And becoming chummy with children during their adolescence doesn’t just benefit moms. It, too, engenders favorable long-term outcomes in teenagers.
A March 2023 study from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia determined that juveniles who experienced higher levels of warmth, open communication and time together with their parents reported increased optimism, romantic relationship quality and general health in young adulthood.
Friendly affinities between mothers and teens also resulted in lower levels of stress and depressive symptoms, as well as decreased nicotine dependence, substance abuse and unintended pregnancy in early adulthood, per the report.
“Investments in improving parent-adolescent relationships may have substantial benefits for young adult population health,” said the study’s authors.
And many folks are taking heed.
Mothers who consider themselves thick as thieves with their Gen Zs often employ TikTok-viral hashtags like #MomAndTeen, with over 831,000 views, or #MommyDaughter, which has amassed more than 4.1 billion views, to showcase the boons of their special bonds.
Bronx mom Tiana Damon, 35, used the latter in a video tribute to her 19-year-old, Jaylah, who she celebrates as her absolute best friend.
“We know each other better than anyone else in the world,” Damon, a cosmetologist, explained to The Post. “Other friends will let you down, but she and I will always have each other’s backs — that’s my homegirl.”
Mom of three Alexis Marie, 34, feels the same way about her eldest daughter Ava, 16, who has doubled as her closest companion and greatest cheerleader amid her pending divorce.
“My daughter has stepped up in such an amazing way,” Alexis, who chose not to disclose her last name for privacy purposes, told The Post. “She’s helping me take care of her younger siblings and things around the house when I have to pick up later shifts at work.”
The healthcare administrator from Vancouver, Washington, is also the proud parent to daughter Audrina, 12, and son Jack, 9, with whom she also shares close bonds.
“There aren’t a lot of teenagers today that would be there for their moms and families in that way — they’d just say, ‘That’s not my job,’ ” Alexis continued. “But Ava has never made me feel bad [during this divorce].”
“She’s my rock — my A1 since Day 1.”
And the duo’s undying devotion goes both ways.
“I’ve always had a close relationship with my mom, but over the past few years, our mother-daughter relationship has gotten stronger,” Ava, a high school volleyball player, tells The Post. “Spending time with each other — whether it’s going on trips, going to concerts or just running errands — is always special and exciting.”
“A lot of girls my age aren’t nearly as close with their mom,” added Ava, “which makes our friendship feel extra sweet.”
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