Lily Allen was photographed on a shopping outing in New York City on Monday as she prepares to move back to London following the end of her marriage to actor David Harbour. The singer, 40, walked the streets with a companion, dressed in a plunging top, loose wide-leg jeans and white trainers while carrying a bright red handbag and wearing sunglasses.
The appearance comes as Allen has said she is set to leave her Brooklyn townhouse and return to the U.K. for a fresh start after her split from Harbour, 50. The couple moved into the art-deco home in Brooklyn in 2020 shortly after their Las Vegas wedding; the property was later featured in Architectural Digest.
Allen has discussed plans for a return to London in recent months and told listeners on her Miss Me? podcast that she has bought an ex-council flat in the area where she grew up. She said she plans to live there with her two daughters and that decorating the new home has helped her through what she described as a difficult period.
"This flat that I’ve bought is in a social housing building," Allen told co-host Miquita Oliver in March. "I have kind of given myself a ‘get out’ clause because it is slap bang in the area which I grew up in, so I don’t feel like I am coming from outside and coming into the area and gentrifying it. I have wanted to live in this building since I was a baby, it’s been a dream of mine forever and finally a flat became available in here and I was in a position to buy it and I did. But I know people have got judgement around it."
In May, Allen said she had been feeling "incredibly low" and lonely in New York, saying she felt "extremely heavy" and that she did not have much to do in the city since the breakup. She confirmed the split from Harbour in January after reports that their relationship had ended the previous December.
Media reports later suggested that Harbour had a secret profile on the celebrity dating app Raya; those reports said Allen discovered the profile after she joined the app herself. Representatives for Allen and Harbour did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Allen moved to Brooklyn in 2020 to be closer to Harbour and to enroll their children in local schools. The actor, best known for his role on the Netflix series Stranger Things, and Allen were married the same year. The couple’s Brooklyn residence gained attention after appearing in a home feature several years later.
Since announcing plans to return to the U.K., Allen has spoken about undertaking renovations and decorating work on her new flat, and about using the project as a coping mechanism during a period of personal change. She has continued to balance public appearances with private life as she readies the move and prepares to settle back in London with her daughters.
On Monday’s outing, Allen and her companion were seen taking advantage of sunny weather in the city before she continues the transition back to Britain. The singer has not announced a precise moving date.