When Lily Allen split from Stranger Things star David Harbour, fans immediately scoured her new album, West End Girl, for answers. They found one: a track named 'Madeline' that seemed to be a raw, accusatory message to an 'other woman.' The lyrics were specific, painting a painful picture of betrayal.
Now, in a move that is either a masterclass in trolling or a powerful reclaiming of her own narrative, Lily Allen has dressed up as that very woman for Halloween.
'Who Is Madeline Though?': Lily Allen Makes a Statement
The 'Smile' singer turned to TikTok on Friday to debut her killer attire. In the video, Allen is seen strutting down a hallway to Cardi B's song 'Magnet.' Her caption was a direct nod to the drama that has surrounded her in the last year: 'Who IS Madeline though, actually?'
The costume itself was a perfect replica of the beloved children's book character. The Madeline book series, created by Ludwig Bemelmans, is famous for its illustrations of a young, red-haired girl in a Parisian boarding school.
Allen wore the classic blue collared pea coat with a red neckerchief, a straw hat, Mary Jane shoes, and a bright orange wig to match the character's iconic look. The homage was twofold: a nod to the book, and a deeply layered reference to her own song that shares the name.
The 'Arrangement' That Fuelled Lily Allen Fan Theories
The costume was so shocking precisely because her song 'Madeline' became the unofficial soundtrack to her divorce. The track appears to allude directly to her four-year marriage to Harbour. When it was released, fans immediately assumed 'Madeline' was a real person, the one who broke up their marriage after Allen allegedly saw a text message on her partner's phone.
The lyrics, which Allen confirmed were written last December when she was 'really depressed,' are painfully specific: '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 continues, 'I can't trust anything that comes out of his mouth / No, I can't trust anything that comes out of his mouth.'
The most telling verse, which pointed to a specific agreement between the couple, was: '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.'
The Truth of 'Madeline' and Lily Allen's 'Traumatic' Year
However, the Halloween costume seems to be Allen's final, playful word on the subject. Despite the song's specificity, the singer admitted to The Times last week that the character who inspired the track was not, in fact, real.
She confirmed 'Madeline' was 'a fictional character.' When the interviewer asked if she was a 'construct of others', Allen replied: 'Yes.'
This fictional nemesis was born from a period of very real pain. Allen revealed she wrote the entire album in just 10 days last December.
'I thought I didn't have any good songs left,' she explained. 'My writing had been really bad and it took something to happen in my life, for everything to be blown up, for me to be able to go, 'Oh, here she is.'
She added: 'Traditionally in my life, when traumatic things happened, I've taken time to step away. I certainly don't think I could have got up on stage days after losing a child [Allen suffered a stillbirth in 2010]. But that is probably more of an anatomical thing. And there are levels to the humiliation – right?'
@lilyallen Who IS Madeline though, actually? #westendgirl #halloween
♬ Magnet - Cardi B
Allen married Harbour in 2019 after meeting him on Raya, an exclusive dating app. In December 2024, speculation of a split began when she was seen recording podcast episodes without her wedding ring and was reportedly found on the Raya app again. She officially filed for divorce last month.
By dressing as her own fictional 'other woman,' Lily Allen has masterfully blurred the lines between her art, her trauma, and a savage sense of humour. After a year of fan theories about 'Madeline' and the end of her marriage to David Harbour, this Halloween costume appears to be her final word on the subject: she's in on the joke and in control of the narrative.
