Lily Allen reveals why she decided to uproot her daughters’ lives and move to America… days after admitting they ‘totally ruined’ her pop career

Lily Allen has revealed why she made the huge decision to disrupt her two young daughters’ lives and move to America.

Earlier this week, the singer, 38, admitted that Ethel Mary, 12, and Marnie Rose, 10, “totally ruined” her pop career because she chose to prioritize those things over work.

Lily opened up about why she decided to move to the US with her two children after finding love with her Stranger Things husband David Harbour, 48.

Speaking on her new podcast Miss Me? on BBC Sounds, Lily and her friend Miquita Oliver discussed the recent award shows and observed how openly showing their emotions Americans were compared to ‘stush’ Brits.

Lily says: ‘One of the reasons I moved here is because I feel it is a much more encouraging environment in which my children can thrive.

‘An example of this is when I decided to do a play, even though I had never acted before and certainly had no theater experience.

Lily launched Miss Me? on BBC Sounds, updated twice a week with a new episode, featuring her lifelong friend, actress Miquita Oliver

Lily shared: ‘(The US) is a much more encouraging environment for my children to thrive’ (pictured with daughters Marnie, 12, and Ethel, 11, and husband David Harbour, 48, in 2022)

‘When I told the Americans about it, they said, “Oh my God, that’s so exciting! You’re going to learn so much, you’re going to kill it!”

‘And when I told English people about it, they said, “A play? Have you ever done that before? Aren’t you afraid?”

“Culturally, we’re just very different.”

Lily made her acting debut in West End play 2:22 A Ghost Story in 2021 alongside EastEnders’ Jake Wood.

Her podcast launch comes after Lily admitted that having her two children has had an impact on her career.

Lily shares daughters Marnie and Ethel, 11, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper.

She admitted on Tuesday that her two daughters “totally ruined” her pop career.

The singer and actress said she believes women should decide whether to put their children or their careers first, and she chose the former.

Lily Allen has admitted her two daughters ‘completely ruined’ her pop career because she chose to prioritize them over work – and insisted: ‘You can’t have it all’

‘My children ruined my career. “I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom they’ve totally ruined it,” she told the BBC Radio Times podcast.

“I get really annoyed when people say you can have it all, because honestly, you can’t.

‘Some people choose their career over their children and that’s their prerogative, but my parents were quite absent when I was little.

“I feel like it left some nasty scars that I don’t want to repeat on mine.”

Lily’s father is actor Keith Allen, 70, who left her film producer mother Alison Owen, 63, when Lily was four.

‘I got a call from a casting director who was doing a play (2:22 A Ghost Story) in the West End. I said, “No, I’m not an actress.”

‘But then I spoke to David. I felt a bit directionless and didn’t really know what I was doing with my life other than being a mother and setting up a new house in Brooklyn.

“He said, ‘Maybe you should call them back,’ and five weeks later I was rehearsing.”

‘My children ruined my career. I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom they have totally ruined it’ (photo 2006)

For her performance, Lily received a 2022 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress.

She has since starred in Martin McDonagh’s play The Pillowman and the British comedy television series Dreamland.

Lily has now said that she has ‘chosen to take a step back and focus on my children’ and she is glad she did because ‘they are quite versatile.’

The Smile singer released her last studio album No Shame in 2018, admitting that she had neglected her children in the process.

Lily now lives in New York with her children and new husband, Stranger Things star David, whom she married in 2020.

She said, “I had been sober for about two years, I had just moved to New York.

“A big part of sobriety is surrendering and letting God – whatever you want to believe – have a plan for you.