Lily Allen discussed the toll that having children had on her pop music career.
Lily is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. She has two daughters, born in 2011 and 2013, from her previous marriage with Sam Cooper. Lily has also previously opened up about delivering a stillborn son in 2010, leading her to have PTSD, and has also been candid about having problems with postnatal depression.
Both of Lily's daughters came after the release of her2009 number one album It's Not Me, It's You. She didn't release another album until 2014's commercially successful Sheezus, which she later said was "a really bad period of time" in her life where she as "having an identity crisis."
Speaking to the Radio Times in a new interview, Lily was asked whether or not having children caused her to restrategize her career. Lily replied with a laugh, "I never really had a strategy when it comes to career. But yes, my children ruined my career."
“I mean, I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop-stardom, they totally ruined it,” she added. "Does not mix!”
“It really annoys me when people say you can have it all because, quite frankly, you can’t,” Lily continued. “Some people choose their career over their children and that’s their prerogative, but my parents were quite absent when I was a kid. I feel like it left some nasty scars that I’m not willing to repeat on mine."
Ultimately, Lily is happy with the trade off she made: “I chose to step back and concentrate on them. I’m glad that I’ve done that because I think they’re pretty well-rounded people. Fingers fucking crossed!”
"I actually think if we weren't so self-centered as people these days, on Instagram you see quite a lot about this no negative energy, I'm protecting my healthy boundaries, and it's all about me, blah. I think if we were less like that and more actually about the community and taking care of the community, then maybe you could have it all. People just can't afford childcare in the way you're supposed to. It just doesn't add up," she continued, noting different things like home ownership and state care are from decades ago. "People can barely afford to live without children."
"Even in 2008, when the crash happened and I had had the success of my first album, I remember thinking, Hang on,I'm number one in the actual charts and on the front cover of the newspapers every day and I found it hard to buy myself a flat. How is everyone else coping? It's definitely not got easier," Lily added.
Lily has recently turned her attention to acting, including garnering a 2022 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for her performance in the play 2:22 A Ghost Story. She's also entering the audio space with an upcoming podcast with TV presenter and friend Miquita Oliver.
