Lily Allen has revealed that she is struggling with her mental health and often forgets to eat.
The British singer and actress, 39, was speaking on the Monday, December 16, episode of the “Miss Me?” podcast she cohosts with her close friend, TV presenter Miquita Oliver, when she opened up about her ongoing mental health issues.
“I don’t think that I lie in therapy, but I do often not talk about things that I should be talking about,” said Allen. “It’s not intentional. So, like, for instance, you know I’ve been going through a tough time over the last few months and my eating has become a real issue.”
The mom of two, who is married to actor David Harbour, 49, said that her therapist questioned why it had taken so long to mention her issues with food. “It’s not because I have been lying about it,” said Allen, noting that she has been struggling with eating for around three years. “It’s just because it hasn’t seemed at the top of the list of the important things that I need to talk about.”
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Allen said that she wonders if her ADHD, which she talked about being diagnosed with in 2023, is a contributing factor. “I don’t link a lot of things,” she said. “My body and my brain are two very separate things to me, but I know a lot of people feel those two things are very connected to each other. With me, it’s very different, I spend a lot of time in my head and not a lot of time thinking about my body.”
She added: “I’m really not in a great place mentally at the moment. I’m not eating but I’m not hungry — I obviously am hungry but my body and my brain are so disconnected from each other that the messages of hunger are not going from my body to my brain. I’m not, like, avoiding food, I’m just not thinking about it … my body is, like, you know, a few steps behind me.”
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It’s not the first time Allen has spoken about her eating issues. Back in 2011, she revealed that she had suffered from bulimia. “A lot of people came up to me telling me how great I looked and I’d be on the cover of every magazine,” she said. “I thought I looked good and it was great to be able to try on clothes and feel a million dollars, but I wasn’t happy, I really wasn’t. I would love to be the skinniest, minniest person in the world but I can’t do that without being unhappy. I like food.”
If you or someone you know struggles with an eating disorder, visit the National Eating Disorders (NEDA) website or call their hotline at (800) 931-2237 to get help.
