Lily Allen seeks therapy to curb shopping binge after declaring herself a billionaire and splashing out on a £120k Porsche and a £16,500 handbag
Lily Allen, the 40-year-old singer, reveals she is undergoing therapy for shopping like an insane person to celebrate the success of her latest album West End Girl. She is returning to her Miss Me? podcast for a Christmas special with co-host and best friend Miquita Oliver, and has disclosed she has splashed the cash, convinced she is a billionaire.
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Therapy journey for shopping addiction explained through EMDR and expert guidance
The singer told how she has been in eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for the past four months due to her spending habits. According to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, EMDR helps people to recover from past experiences that are affecting their mental health and wellbeing. Using side to side eye movements combined with talk therapy, it is designed to help process negative images, emotions, beliefs and body sensations associated with traumatic memories that appear stuck and can contribute to a range of issues. Describing it as 'life changing', Ms Allen said: 'You usually start by deciding an area, like a traumatic experience you want to focus on, and visualise the experience and identify the feelings that are coming up in your body and mind, and the pain levels go down. If you're trying to stop a negative behaviour like spending or drug taking, you do the opposite and think of the good feeling and try and dissociate that feeling from your self-worth.' She added: 'In my case a handbag, you separate it by saying this handbag is making me a better person. It is really interesting... I'm not clear on the science but it is working for me.'
The lavish splurge: a £120k Porsche and a £16,500 Hermes bag and more
Returning to her Miss Me? podcast for a Christmas special with co-host and best friend Miquita Oliver, Ms Allen revealed all the lavish items she has purchased – including a £120,000 Porsche and a £16,500 Hermes bag. 'I'm just playing with my huge diamond and emerald ring, I bought myself a little present but it's not that little,' she said. 'You've got to treat yourself and mark the moment. I'm convinced I'm a billionaire. Handbags have been bought, jewels and a car has been bought.'
A year of upheaval for Lily Allen: divorce, surgery and a new West End Girl romance
Ms Allen, the daughter of actor Keith Allen, has had a tough year since her 'devastating' split from Stranger Things actor husband David Harbour, 50, at the end of 2024. She revealed in February that she has had breast enhancement surgery, stating she did it for herself in order to 'glow up'. West End Girl, released in October to rave reviews, details her recovery from her marriage break-up. After weeks of speculation that she is in a relationship with writer Jonah Freud, 28, the pair were spotted kissing at a Christmas party in London last week. Ms Allen was seen cosying up to Freud, son of entrepreneur Matthew Freud and ex-wife Caroline Hutton, at Stringfellows nightclub, before they shared a kiss.
