Lily Allen has revealed why she decided to move to the US with her family.

The Smile singer has lived in New York with her daughters, Ethel Mary, 12, and Marnie Rose, 10, and husband David Harbour, 48, since 2021.

Speaking on her new podcast, Miss Me?, Lily revealed why she decided to move away from the UK.

"One of the reasons I moved here is because I feel like it’s a much more encouraging environment in which my children can thrive," said the 42-year-old.

"Just an example of that would be when I decided to do a play even though I'd never acted before and certainly didn't have any experience in the theatre.When I would tell Americans about it, they'd be like: 'Oh my God, that's so exciting! You're gonna learn so much, you're gonna kill it!' And then when I'd tell English people about it they'd be like: 'A play? Have you ever done that before? Aren't you scared?' Culturally, we're just very different."

Lily won a Best Actress Olivier Award nomination in 2022 for her role in West End play, 2:22 A Ghost Story.

Her comments come in the same week that she admitted having children "ruined her career."

She told the Radio Times podcast, "My children ruined my career. I love them and they complete me, but in terms of pop-stardom, they totally ruined it. I get really annoyed when people say you can have it all because, quite frankly, you can’t."

LATEST NEWS