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19 Jan 2026 20:39
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Lily Allen's daughters are finding it hard adapting to life back in the UK

    The 40-year-old singer has Ethel, 14, and Marnie, 12, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper and admits that her kids are struggling with the changes that have come with moving back to Britain after living in New York.


    Lily - who separated from her second husband David Harbour in 2024 - said on her Miss Me? podcast: "My kids are f****** mental at the moment... They are really developing their personalities. It's just a lot. There's a lot of questions.

    "There's a lot of changes in our lives at the moment. We've changed houses, we've changed countries, we've changed schools, and it's a lot."

    The Not Fair hitmaker explained that she can hardly recognise her youngest daughter's accent as it has changed completely since she returned to Britain.

    Lily said: "Their accents have changed because they've come back. Like, now Marnie properly sounds like Princess Margaret. I'm like, who are you?

    "Literally six months ago, she was like (puts on a New York accent), 'What? No...' And now it's like a completely different person."

    She added: "But they are discovering who they are. They're grappling with some new ideas in terms of who I am.

    "The last five years, I've been a stay-at-home mum. And now I'm a single mum that has to work and suddenly has a lot of work opportunities on my plate and I'm having to travel a lot.

    "But they also like having a nice roof over their heads and nice clothes and being able to go to nice restaurants and things. So they understand it. But it's just a lot of change.

    "There's a lot of change and also new friends, new friendship groups and the idea of boyfriends."

    Lily also reflected on a busy 2025, which saw her release the album West End Girl that detailed the breakdown of her marriage to Stranger Things actor Harbour.

    She said: "I've done quite a lot this year.

    "I've finished an album, I got a boob job, I had a nervous breakdown, I went into hospital for a bit, I came out, I did some podcasting for a while, then I played one of the hardest tracks in theatre and killed myself (in the role of Hedda Gabler) every night for seven weeks."

    © 2026 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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