Lily Allen Claims an Abusive Ex Told Her She Had Poor ‘Hygiene’

Lily Allen claimed an ex would put her down over her cleanliness.

“It was somebody I was in a relationship with who would [tell me I had poor hygiene],” the singer, 40, said in a recent episode of her and Miquita Oliver’s “Miss Me?” podcast. “I don’t think it was real.”

During the episode, Allen and Oliver took questions from fans about personal hygiene. One listener asked the women if they had been told they smelled before by someone, and wondered how the news was delivered.

“I think that it was like a form of bullying and abuse, it was a horrible one. And as bullying forms of abuse go, it’s a really horrible one,” Allen continued. “It was like done on purpose to make me feel self-conscious and s*** about myself. And make them feel powerful.”

Allen shared that she didn’t believe the ex, who remains nameless, because she asked others around her if she smelled, and seemingly did not get the same reaction.

The “Smile” musician also noted there was irony with her ex’s critiques because he allegedly did not have great hygiene.

“Thinking about the goal of this person who had the audacity to tell me that I had an issue with my personal hygiene. When I first met them, I went over to their house and there were actual skid marks on their bed,” she claimed. “Had they just gone to the f***ing toilet and not wiped their ass and just sat on the edge of the bed naked. And they had the audacity to come to me and tell me that I need to brush my teeth.”

Allen’s dating history has had its fair share of highs and lows. She was in a relationship with Chemical Brothers member Ed Simons from 2007 to 2008. Allen moved on with ex-husband Sam Cooper the following year. The pair tied the knot in 2011 and welcomed daughter Ethel Mary that same year. They welcomed daughter Marnie Rose in 2013. Allen and Cooper separated in 2016 and finalized their divorce two years later.

Following her divorce, Allen started dating David Harbour. The couple tied the knot in 2020. In December 2024, speculation sparked that Allen and Harbour had broken up after the Daily Mail reported the singer was on the dating app Raya. Rumors continued to swirl after the Stranger Things star was spotted without his wedding ring while attending the Critics’ Choice Awards and the Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary solo.

Allen has not addressed the rumors, but she did share during a February episode of her podcast that she was in a treatment program for an undisclosed reason.

“I just feel very grateful to have been given the time and the space that I needed,” she said at the time. “I went into a sort of treatment center for a few weeks, which was great. I did a lot of group therapy and some individual therapy, and I needed some time and space away from everything.”

Harbour, for his part, responded to the breakup rumors during an April interview with GQ Hype.

“I’m protective of the people and the reality of my life,” he explained. “There’s no use in that form of engaging [with rumors] because it’s all based on hysterical hyperbole.”