On Friday, Lily Allen released her fifth album, West End Girl, to huge critical acclaim, with the 40-year-old singer previously stating that it was inspired by the breakdown of her and Stranger Things actor David Harbour’s marriage.
So, it’s perhaps unsurprising that listeners were left scandalized when West End Girl told the story of Lily being left heartbroken by a partner who forced her into an open relationship after she landed an acting role in London in the summer of 2021. Despite the couple agreeing on a set of rules that the other woman would be a stranger who her partner only saw for sex, Lily was devastated to learn that he developed an emotional connection and seemingly had fully-fledged affairs behind her back.
You can read a full breakdown of all of the revelations here, but some of the key parts include Lily referencing the Madonna-whore complex as she reflected on her partner asking: “Why aren’t we fucking, baby?” prior to his request to have sex with other women in “Sleepwalking,” and him not being intimate with her afterward. She sings: “I don’t know if you do it intentionally / Somehow you make it my fault.”
And perhaps the most shocking song on the album is “Pussy Palace,” where Lily discovers that her partner was secretly using their apartment in the West Village as his sex palace, and the eyebrow-raising things she discovered at this home.
And with that in mind, it’s perhaps notable that before her and David’s split, Lily spoke openly about her and David’s sex life on her podcast, where she expressed her discomfort at the things he’d request in the bedroom.
In June 2024, a listener asked Lily and her cohost, Miquita Oliver, if they had ever “kink-shamed” somebody, and Lily began by saying that she has always been incredibly open-minded in the bedroom and referenced how honest she has been about her promiscuity over the years.
However, seemingly thinking out loud, Lily then said: “I wonder if I kink-shame my husband. Because he quite often asks for things, and I’m like: ‘No babe, it’s not happening.’”
“I’m not like: ‘You piece of shit, how dare you ask me to do that!’” Lily joked. “I’m just like: ‘Hmm, headache. Little headache, got a bit of a headache — maybe not tonight.’”
Throughout the rest of the podcast, which was recorded just months before Lily and David’s split, Lily repeatedly referenced times she had been experimental in the bedroom when she was younger, and admitted that David would be wondering where her “sexy” side had gone.
“Oh my god, I really hope my husband doesn’t listen to this show,” she exclaimed. “He’s going to just be like: ‘Where? Where is this person that’s doing all these sexy things?’ Like: ‘Why are you lying to everyone that you’re this liberated…’”
It’s worth mentioning that David has not publicly responded to the jaw-dropping album, and he has thus far only made one comment about his and Lily’s split. In April of this year, the actor told GQ: “I’m protective of the people and the reality of my life. There’s no use in that form of engaging [with tabloid news] because it’s all based on hysterical hyperbole.”
What do you make of Lily’s resurfaced comments? Let me know down below!
