The singer shared that she didn’t want her kids to ‘have to prop her up’ while she battled ‘emotional turmoil’
Lily Allen returned to her Miss Me? podcast with Miquita Oliver
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Lisa McLoughlin 2 minutes ago
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Lily Allen has opened up about her stay at a £8,000-per-week trauma treatment centre, admitting that it was “getting harder to be there” for her children.
In her first podcast episode since seeking treatment, the singer shared that she didn’t want her kids to “have to prop her up” while she battled “emotional turmoil” following her split from Stranger Things actor David Harbour.
Last month, reports surfaced that the 39-year-old had checked herself into the facility after confiding in friends that she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown in the wake of her breakup. Allen ended her marriage to Harbour in December after discovering he had been using the celebrity dating app Raya.
After struggling upon her return to the US, she announced a break from Miss Me?, the podcast she co-hosts with longtime friend Miquita Oliver, and revealed she was going to a treatment centre to help.
Now, in her first episode back, she has spoken openly about her experience in treatment and the events that led her to seek help.
The Fear singer revealed: “People think I hate my children. I really don’t. I absolutely adore my children and I’m in a situation now where I really have to be my strongest self for them.
“I felt like it was getting harder and harder for me to be able to show up for them in the way that they need me to. It was a big decision to have to leave them for a few weeks to go and focus on myself but ultimately it was for them so that I can get us through this bit. I needed some help to be able to do that.
She continued: “I don’t want them to ever feel like they have to prop me up. None of this is their fault and it’s my job to support them and make them feel safe and secure, and I just don’t think I was able to do that because of the emotional turmoil that I was in at the time.
“But I do feel like I am now. I’m not saying that I’m 100% there or getting it 100% right or that I ever will but I’m definitely in a stronger place.”
Allen, who shares daughters Ethel, 13, and Marnie, 11, with ex-husband Sam Cooper, also discussed how she turned to meditation to help her move forward and stop dwelling on the past.
The British artist said: “I went into a treatment centre for a few weeks, which was great. I did lots of group therapy and some like individual therapy.
“I needed some time and space away from everything. And I did a lot of shadow work – lots of work about my inner child stuff. It wasn’t easy by any stretch. And it’s a journey, it’s a life long journey of healing. It’s not a quick fix.
“But I’ve started meditating every day now, at least two or three times a day. That’s really helping me.”
The singer further revealed that she is now working on a musical after being commissioned for the project, marking an exciting new chapter in her career.
“I made my Instagram comeback,” she shared. “I’ve been commissioned to do a musical so I’m here starting on that. It will be a long process but this little stint is the beginning.
“And it’s been going really well.”
