Lily Allen says 'my children ruined my career' as she hits back at idea that 'you can have it all'

Lily Allen declared that having her daughters "totally ruined" her "pop stardom" in a candid interview about her career and motherhood. 

In a new interview, Lily Allen opened up about a rather taboo subject as she spoke about how balancing motherhood with her life as a music icon "totally ruined" her career. Lily Allen is the mother of two daughters, Ethel who was born in 2011, and Marnie, who she had in 2013. Lily shares custody of the two girls with her ex-husband Sam Cooper after they amicably split back in 2016.

In an interview with Radio Times, Lily Allen spoke to host Kelly-Anne Taylor and fellow guest, TV presenter Miquita Oliver about motherhood, making a candid confession about how she feels motherhood impacted her fame. 

"I never really had a strategy when it came to my career but yes, my children ruined my career," Lily said. "I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom, they totally ruined it."

Miquita appreciated the BRIT Award winner's honesty as she responded, "That’s such a good answer, I’m so glad to hear someone say that, because people go 'Oh, of course not!'"

"Does not mix," Lily added. "And it really annoys me when people say you can have it all because, quite frankly, you can’t."

Lily's fame peaked when she released her album Alright Still, in 2006 which featured hits such as Smile, LDN, and Alfie. Her next album It's Not Me it's You, was released in 2008 and featured songs such as 22, Not Fair, Fu*k You and The Fear.

After taking a break and becoming a mother, her 2014 album Sheezus and her 2018 album No Shame were not met with the same critical acclaim and success as the other records. 

Lily also reflected on her own childhood in the interview as she revealed that she wanted her children to be raised differently and with hands-on parents.

"Some people choose their career over their children, and that’s their prerogative. But my parents were quite absent when I was a kid, and I feel like that really left some nasty scars that I’m not willing to, you know, repeat on mine," she said. "And so I chose stepping back and concentrating on them, and I’m glad that I’ve done that because I think they’re pretty well-rounded people."

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My Thoughts Exactly is Lily Allen's Number 1 Bestselling auto-biography about all things motherhood, life, career and feminism. 

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Lily is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and  Alison Owen, a film producer who separated when she was just four years old.

She and her children now live with her new husband David Harbour, who is best known for playing Hopper in the hugely successful Stranger Things series. The couple married in 2020 after meeting on a dating app, and in recent years Lily has taken up acting and starred in 2:22 A Ghost Story on the West End.