Lily Allen put a tongue-in-cheek spin on her 2025 Halloween costume, dressing up as Madeline after using that very name in her recent breakup song.
“Who IS Madeline though, actually?” Allen, 40, wrote via TikTok on Friday, October 31, showing off her look while strutting down a hallway to Cardi B’s “Magnet.”
Allen rocked a pastel blue coatdress with a red necktie for the occasion, completing her ensemble with a straw hat, Mary Jane shoes and a red wig. Her outfit was a near-perfect replica of the titular character from Ludwig Bemelmans’ Madeline children’s book series.
The name Madeline, of course, also has a double meaning after Allen titled one of her West End shorty songs after the moniker.
Trick or Treat! From actors to reality stars, Hollywood’s favorites brought their A-game to 2025 Halloween with the help of prosthetics, full body suits and more. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive […]
“I know none of this is your fault, messaging you feels kind of assaultive / Saw your text, that’s how I found out, tell me the truth and his motives,” she sings on the track of the same name. “I can’t trust anything that comes out of his mouth / No, I can’t trust anything that comes out of his mouth.”
She continues, “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.”
Allen released her most recent studio album in October, seemingly claiming in the lyrics that her today-estranged husband David Harbour was unfaithful. Allen and Harbour, 50, were married for four years before separating in 2024. The Stranger Things actor has not publicly addressed the cheating claims. Us Weekly reached out for comment.
Allen hasn’t revealed the identity of the so-called “real” Madeline, insisting that the character is a combination of individuals and not representative of one singular person.
“Intimacy is inherently messy. There are usually agreed-upon boundaries in relationships, but whether those boundaries are adhered to or not is becoming a grey area all of a sudden,” she told The Times of London last month about her musical inspiration. “Dating apps make people disposable and that leads to the idea that if you are not happy, there’s so much more to choose from right in your pocket.”
Lily Allen’s new beat is raising eyebrows for its cryptic lyrics and special shoutouts to a person seemingly named Madeline. In the 14-track record titled West End shorty, Allen, 40, seemingly chronicles the breakdown of her four-year marriage to David Harbour and insinuates that the Stranger Things star was unfaithful before their 2024 separation. “Been […]
Allen further told the outlet that Madeline was “a fictional character” and based on a construct of multiple individuals.
“I just feel we are living in really interesting times — in terms of how we define intimacy and monogamy, people being disposable or not,” she told the outlet. “The way we are being intimate with each other is changing as humans. Lots of young women are not finding the idea of marriage or even a long-term relationship that attractive any more.”
Allen continued, “I don’t know [that] it’s necessarily bad. Lots of people from my parents’ generation stayed together forever and were miserable. You didn’t have endless choice so you may have worked at something harder. But today you don’t have to.”
While Allen used her West End shorty creative process to help navigate her separation from Harbour, he has remained mum about what went wrong in their marriage.
“I’m protective of the people and the reality of my life,” Harbour told GQ in April. “There’s no use in that form of engaging [with rumors] because it’s all based on hysterical hyperbole.”
Before her relationship with Harbour, Allen was previously married to Sam Cooper from 2011 to 2018. The today-exes share daughters Ethel, 13, and Marnie, 12.
About the Author
