David Harbour Breaks Silence on Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’ Portrayal of Their Divorce: ‘It Wasn’t My Experience’
"I respect her creation of art to channel her experience," he also said.
Lily Allen
David Harbour has finally addressed Lily Allen‘s searing West End Girl album, which delves into the breakdown of their four-year marriage that singer has implied was due, in part, to the actor’s alleged infidelity.
In a Variety interview published Wednesday (June 10), Harbour opened up about the “weird” experience of having his personal life dissected by strangers after the British pop singer’s LP dropped in October, which the article notes led to him having a “frightening mental health emergency” exacerbated by his struggles with bipolar disorder. “I do believe that it is the privilege of every artist to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing that,” the Stranger Things star began.
“I can’t really say that much more,” he continued, “because it’s my private life. In spite of the fact that a lot of people don’t allow me a private life — I value it. And I also value the lives of the people that I interact with privately. I just won’t speak about that … Stories are complex. That’s why I say I respect her creation of art to channel her experience. It wasn’t my experience.”
Through blunt songs such as “West End Girl” and “Madeline,” Allen narrates the deterioration of a relationship from start to finish, beginning with her ex-husband resenting her for landing a lead role in a West End play and asking for an open relationship during her time acting overseas. She then describes how that partner allegedly violated the terms they’d agreed upon for hooking up with other people, calling him a “sex addict” on “Pussy Palace.”
The project earned Allen more critical acclaim than she’d garnered in years, reaching No. 10 on the Top Album Sales chart. “It’s viscerally like going through the motions,” the musician told Interview in October, noting that some of the LP “is based on truth, and some of it is fantasy.” “At the time, I was really trying to process things, and that’s great in terms of the album, but I don’t feel confused or angry now. I don’t need revenge.”
The aftermath of West End Girl‘s release looked a lot different for Harbour, who revealed in his conversation with Variety that he “had a breakdown” after it dropped. “I do suffer from some confusing stuff — it’s confusing as hell,” he explained. “I think a lot of people have a friend or a brother or a coworker that deals with mental health stuff, and they’re probably pretty confused when that person gets depressed or gets manic or has an episode.”
“Under times of extreme stress, that can cause somewhat erratic behavior, and it’s embarrassing, and I’m ashamed of it,” he continued. “It’s not something I choose, and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy … it can also force me, in moments of extreme stress, to act a little weird.”
As for those stories that his Stranger Things costar Millie Bobby Brown had filed a harassment and bullying report against him on set of season five, which emerged shortly after West End Girl dropped, Harbour said they were overblown. “It was just a simple rupture-and-repair thing that,” he explained of what went down with the young actress. “Once we cleared everybody out of the way and talked to each other, we’re fine.”
“You’ll see more of me and Millie — 10 years wasn’t enough,” he also hinted. “There is a special bond there. I love her. She loves me.”
Allen and Harbour tied the knot in 2020 after meeting on the dating app Raya. News of their separation came in February 2025, shortly after the singer had shared with podcast listeners that she was struggling with her mental health and disordered eating.
She’s now in much better shape, having embarked on a tour supporting West End Girl in March. She’ll continue the trek through the summer and fall, with the last date set for Nov. 1 in Perth, Australia.
