British singer Lily Allen says people can’t “have it all” and instead must choose between having a successful career and parenthood.
The 38-year-old recording artist shared her thoughts during a conversation on the “Radio Times Podcast.” “My children ruined my career,” Allen told host Kelly-Anne Taylor. “I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop stardom, totally ruined it,” she said.
The “Smile” singer shares daughters Ethel Mary, 12, and Marnie Rose, 11, with her ex-husband Sam Cooper. The pair married in 2011 and divorced in 2018. Allen married “Stranger Things” actor David Harbour in 2020.
“It really annoys me when people say you can have it all because, quite frankly, you can’t,” she 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, and I feel like that really left some nasty scars that I’m not willing to, you know, repeat on mine,” Allen went on.
“So I chose stepping back and concentrating on them and I’m glad that I have done that because I think they’re pretty well-rounded people,” she said. “Fingers f***ing crossed.”
Allen launched her musical career in 2005 by releasing recordings on the social media site MySpace. Her popularity on the platform eventually led to her landing a record contract.
Allen’s first hit single, “Smile,” rose the charts in 2006, eventually reaching number one in the U.K. and becoming certified double platinum. Her popularity both overseas and in the United States led to several additional album releases over the following years. She received the award for best British Female Solo Artist at the 2010 Brit Awards.
The singer is also an outspoken advocate of abortion. In the summer of 2022, she performed her song “F**k You” with Olivia Rodrigo at Glastonbury Festival and dedicated it to the justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
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Allen also disclosed that she had an abortion in the past.
“i wish people would stop posting examples of exceptional reasons for having abortions. most people I know, myself included, just didn’t want to have a f–king baby. AND THAT IS REASON ENOUGH! WE DON’T HAVE TO JUSTIFY IT,” Allen wrote in Instagram stories at the time, per Page Six.
She continued, “It shouldn’t have to be said, and i think all these examples just play into the hands of the baddies.”