David HarbourDavid Harbour has spoken out for the first time about his ex-wife Lily Allen’s latest album, West End Girl.
When West End Girl dropped in October 2025, it immediately got the whole world talking, with many listeners inferring that it detailed the breakdown of the two stars’ marriage in candid detail.
For her part, Lily has always maintained the album is a work of “autofiction”, claiming in a 2025 interview that its songs were “inspired by what went on” towards the end of her marriage to the Stranger Things actor, albeit with artistic licence applied.
Addressing the album during a new interview with Variety, David claimed: “I don’t think I could say it’s all true.”
Reflecting on the release, he admitted: “It was weird. 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.”
“I can’t really say that much more because it’s my private life,” David continued. “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.”
He added that “stories are complex”, she respects his famous ex’s “creation of art to channel her experience”, even if it “isn’t my experience”.
Back in November, Lily claimed that she didn’t feel any “reluctance” about making an album as personal as West End Girl, telling CBS Mornings: “At the time, I wasn’t even really thinking about it as… like… a commercial endeavour. It was an act of desperation actually.
“You know, while I was writing it, I wasn’t really sure that it was going to see the light of day.”
“Since I’ve put it out, it’s felt completely and utterly liberating,” she noted. “It was kind of hellish having it in the background.
“I just feel like [...] it said everything that I needed to say. And I felt like I couldn’t really get on with my life until I’d said it.”
Upon its release, West End Girl was a huge hit for Lily both critically and commercially, receiving positive reviews from critics, fans and the Not Fair singer’s industry peers, as well as becoming her highest-charting album since 2014.
Next week, Lily will embark on her first headlining UK arena tour in support of the album, having performed West End Girl in full at smaller venues, as well as at the Mighty Hoopla music festival, earlier this year.
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