Who is Lily Allen’s Madeline about? Wait, I don’t actually want to know – pop needs its mysteries

<p>Whether it’s Parton’s Jolene, Beyoncé’s Becky with the good hair and now Madeline on Allen’s new album, the ‘other woman’ is everywhere – but gossip risks spoiling these songs</p><p>So, to quote Lily Allen – who the fuck is Madeline? As mysteries go, this one didn’t seem to last long. On Friday, Allen released her <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/oct/24/lily-allen-west-end-girl-a-gobsmacking-autopsy-of-marital-betrayal">new album West End Girl</a>, which appears to concern her divorce from US actor David Harbour, with its highly detailed evisceration of an open marriage destroyed by a husband’s emotional affair with a woman called Madeline. By Sunday, the press had already declared they’d found Madeline: the Mail on Sunday printed an interview with a woman claiming she and Harbour had had a relationship.<em> “</em>Of course I’ve heard the song,” they reported her as saying. “But I have a family and things to protect … It’s a little bit scary for me.” (Harbour, for his part, has not responded to the album’s contents or to the Mail’s claims.)</p><p>On the song Madeline, Allen (or her character) sings about messaging a woman her husband has been sleeping with, explaining her worries that emotions are now involved: “We had an arrangement / Be discreet and don’t be blatant / There had to be payment / It had to be with strangers / But you’re not a stranger, Madeline.” She then recites text messages sent by Madeline – “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” – which the Mail claims were pulled from real messages.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/oct/28/who-is-lily-allen-madeline-about">Continue reading...</a>