David Harbour breaks his silence on Lily Allen divorce
by AMELIA WYNNE, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER · Mail OnlineDavid Harbour has broken his silence on his divorce from Lily Allen - as the singer's new album lays bare their toxic relationship and split after she accused him of cheating.
Speaking to Esquire Spain in September before her bombshell West End Girl album release, the actor reflected on his 'pain, slip ups and mistakes' as he reached 50.
Lily addressed his 'mistakes' in the semi-autobiographical album on tracks Tennis and Madeline - which came after she discovered his three-year affair and slew of infidelities.
Asked by the publication if there was anything he'd change about the last half a century David said: 'That's such a hard question – the question of regret, or something. I would change either everything or nothing.
'You either accept your path completely and realise that even the pain and the slip-ups and the mistakes are all part of the journey, and that there's truth and growth, wisdom and deeper empathy and connection in all that.
'It's kind of like a house of cards, the minute you try to change one thing you kind of have to change it all.'
He added that if he were to change anything he'd change 'everything' and 'just make my life happy and silly' but that that would in turn mean he 'wasn't an artist anymore' which would 'suck'.
David then addressed the next 50 years of his life saying there are people he wants to 'love, be good to and nurture'.
The release of the interview comes after Lily's new album stunned fans - with intricate details of the dissolution of her marriage to philandering ex-husband David leaving jaws dropping.
West End Girl is an ode to her marriage to the Stranger Things actor, to whom she was married for four years after meeting on dating app Raya, with 14 tracks detailing in brutal honesty the breakdown of their relationship.
The record is her first in seven years and was recorded in just 10 days, in the wake of her devastating split from the star last December after Lily, 40, discovered his three-year affair and slew of infidelities.
The widely-lauded album has been carefully dissected by avid fans to reveal more details of the relationship breakdown.
Lily poked fun at her ex-husband David's 'mistress' on Friday when she dressed up as children's book character, Madeline.
Celebrating Halloween at Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, the singer channeled the titular character from the classic series by Ludwig Bemelmans, after the release of her explosive song of the same name.
Lily, whose new album is about her ex-husband's affair and their subsequent split, seemingly named the girl on the semi-autobiographical album in which she repeatedly sings: 'Who the f*** is Madeline?'
The Madeline book series, which follows the orphaned schoolgirl, was turned into a film in 1998, with actress Hatty Jones taking the lead role.
Channelling the character for Vas J Morgan and Michael Braun's star-studded Halloween party, the musician wore a blue, collard pea coat, with a red neckerchief.
She topped her school uniform off with a straw hat, Mary Jane shoes and added a bright orange wig.
The 1998 film adaptation of Madeline also starred Frances McDormand as nun Miss Clavel and Nigel Hawthorne as Lord Covington.
Set in Paris in 1956, it follows Madeline and eleven other girls who are trying to prevent their catholic boarding school from being shut down.
Lily released her new single, titled Madeline, last Friday, which appears on her album West End Girl.
The singer addresses David's infidelity with lyrics: 'I can't trust anything that comes out of his mouth'.
The song, Tennis, sees Lily namecheck the woman, who she interrogates her partner about after seeing a text message from her appear on his phone.
The record comes after a turbulent time in Lily's life following the breakdown of her marriage in December after she accused David of having multiple affairs including a his three-year affair with a younger costume designer.
And now there is one question on everyone's lips - who is the real Madeline?
Fans are speculating Lily's song is a modern-day equivalent of Beyonce's 'Becky with the good hair,' which featured on a song called Sorry, a cheating diss track from her 2016 album Lemonade.
It's suspected that Madeline is a pseudonym Lily has used for legal reasons.
Meanwhile Dolly Parton's 1973 hit Jolene sees the country star sing: 'Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene/ I'm begging of you, please don't take my man'.
And it seems Lily has penned the new 'Jolene' - but this time she is called Madeline.
Through lyrics in the song Tennis, Lily uses the racquet sport as a metaphor for sex as she sings: 'So I read your text, and now I regret it.'
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She continues: 'I can’t get my head round how you've been playing tennis/ If it was just sex I wouldn’t be jealous.
'You won't play with me and who the f**k is Madeline?'
The song ends with an outro repeating: 'Da, da-da, da-da, who's Madeline? (Who's Madeline?)' before it ends with: 'No, but who is Madeline, actually?'
The following song is then entirely centred on the affair as she appears to suggest the couple had an open arrangement in regards to sex, as long as it was discrete and not based on emotional connection.
Lily sings: 'How long has it been going on? Is it just sex or is there emotion?/ He told me it would stay in hotel rooms, never be out in the open/ Why would I trust anything that comes out of his mouth?'
'I'm not convinced that he didn't f**k you in our house'.
The chorus then goes: 'We had an arrangement/ Be discrete and don't be blatant.
'There had to be payment/ It had to be with strangers/ But you're not a stranger, Madeline'.
The song also features spoken interludes from the character of Madeline where she insists to Lily over text: 'Our relationship has only ever been about sex/ I can promise you that this is not an emotional connection.
'We don't speak outside of the time we spend together/ And whenever he talks about you, it's with the upmost respect'.
Later, Madeline adds: 'I hate that you're in so much pain right now/ I really don't wanna be the cause of any upset.
'He told me you were aware this was going on and that he had your full consent.
'If he's lying about that, then please let me know/ Because I have my own feelings about dishonesty.
'Lies are not something that I want to get caught up in / You can reach out to me any time, by the way/ If you need any more details or you just need to vent or anything/ Love and light, Madeline'.
Taking to X fans couldn't believe Lily's honestly as they quipped: 'We got Jolene, Becky with the good hair, and now Madeline.'
Lily's representatives declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail about Madeline's identity.
Lily's record tells the story of a broken marriage and a series of betrayals with the hitmaker explaining: 'There are definitely some things that happened in my real life that are reflected on this record.'
Last week she hinted that her ex-husband 'refused to give answers' when asked about his three-year affair with a younger colleague.
The singer officially split with the Stranger Things star when she discovered his three-year affair and profile on celebrity dating app, Raya.