David Harbour has spoken about his close relationship with Lily Allen’s daughters over the years, after being their stepdad since 2020.
The Smile hitmaker, 40, shocked the nation when she released her first record in seven years last week, which detailed her marriage with the Stranger Things actor, 50.
In songs including Madeline and Tennis, Lily accused her ex-husband of cheating, gaslighting, lying, and contemplated whether he was a ‘sex addict’.
In the wake of this album, David, who has been stepdad to Lily Allen’s kids, Ethel, 13, and Marnie, 12, since 2020, has been snapped spending time with the children.
The actor was spotted with the children on a day out at Universal Epic Universe theme park last weekend, which was after Lily released her new album.
A source close to Lily told the Daily Mail that Lily hadn’t told the ‘full story’ and was attempting to look like the victim.
‘This is typical Lily. She opens her mouth and totally lambasts someone, and meanwhile, he’s looking after her children,’ the source said.
‘She has told people what she wants them to hear, in interviews and song lyrics, which means she has come across as the victim.
‘But she hasn’t told the full story. Again, typical Lily. David spent several years as Ethel and Marnie’s stepfather. It’s lovely to see they, at least, still have a relationship. You just wonder why Lily would feel the need to attack David so much and make him look like the worst man in the world when actually he’s caring for her daughters.’
What did Lily Allen appear to say about David Harbour in West End Girl?
In West End Girl, Lily appeared to reveal that they were in some version of an open relationship, but accused David of breaking the rules by cheating on her.
‘We had an arrangement/ Be discreet and don’t be blatant/ It had to be with strangers,’ she sings, before describing her discovery of a woman who she refers to as Madeline.
While Lily previously said she’d like to have children with David, in the album – which was met with rave reviews – the star sings about her husband considering getting a vasectomy, as she wonders whether he’d got a woman pregnant that’s not her.
She also sings in Pussy Palace that she ‘found a shoebox full of handwritten letters /From brokenhearted women wishing you could have been better’ in an apartment owned by David in New York, which she said was evidence of his ‘double life’.
Lily also sings about finding a bag full of ’sex toys, butt plugs, and lube inside’.
In the titular track, Lily described David’s ‘demeanour’ changing after she got a part in West End play, 2:22 A Ghost Story.
When did David Harbour become a stepfather?
Lily and David began dating after meeting on celebrity dating app Raya, publicly confirming their romance in September 2019.
In 2020 in Las Vegas, the couple was married by an Elvis Presley impersonator, and they celebrated with a meal of In-N-Out burgers.
‘In a wedding officiated by the king himself, the people’s princess wed her devoted, low born, but kind credit card holder in a beautiful ceremony lit by the ashen skies courtesy of a burning state miles away in the midst of a global pandemic,’ Harbour captioned his post at the time.
This means David has been her children’s stepfather for five years.
The children also have a relationship with their father, Sam Cooper, whom Lily was married from 2011 until 2018.
What has David Harbour said about Lily Allen’s children?
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2021, David revealed that his stepchildren were a major factor when it came to tying the knot with Lily.
‘At the beginning of the pandemic, and we were riding bikes out in the country trying to figure out what we were gonna do for the next year or however long it was going to take,’ he said. ‘And the little one was riding along, and she was going like, “David, dad, David, dad”. Because the D got her confused. And the older one got very upset with that, which I understand. She was like, “He’s not our dad!”
‘And then the younger one was like, “Well, what is he? He’s kind of our dad.” She’s like, “No, he’s not, he’s our stepdad.” And she goes, “What is he?” And she goes, “He’s just some guy in our lives!”
‘I was like, I need to marry this woman,’ Harbour continued. ‘Because the emotional fallout… That’s one of my favourite things I’ve ever been called. “Just some guy in our lives.” Nine years old going on 35.’
In Lily’s podcast, Miss Me?, he revealed that he ‘never wanted kids’, but fell in love with Lily’s children instantly.
‘I was scared,’” he said about meeting the children over breakfast. ‘But almost immediately, I fell in love with them. It was that feeling people talk about when they have kids, you want to take care of them, give them anything.’
He continued: ‘There was just an immediate sort of love for them that was so unique.
‘They were innocent, little faces looking up at me, and that really pushed me over the edge. I realised this is a family, a pre-made family, and I want to be there for them.’
In an October interview with Vogue, Lily spoke about her ex-husband’s role in her children’s lives post-divorce.
She confirmed you’d ‘have to ask him,’ when asked if David would continue to be a stepfather to the girls.
Reflecting on her marriage to David, she said: ‘there were lots of good things’ about it.
‘My kids had an amazing experience living in America for five years, and I have a lot of compassion for my ex-husband. I think we all suffer.’
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