David Harbour explains why he ‘never wanted kids’ before meeting Lily Allen’s daughters

David Harbour has opened up about how becoming stepdad to Lily Allen’s daughters completely shifted his view on having kids. Last week, Lily seemingly hit out at ex David with the release of her new album West End Girl, which appears to focus on the messy breakdown of their marriage.

The Stranger Things actor has been part of Lily’s family since 2020, after they married in Las Vegas with an Elvis impersonator and a post-wedding meal at In-N-Out. That same year, Harbour became stepfather to Lily’s daughters, Ethel, 13, and Marnie, 12, who she shares with her ex-husband Sam Cooper.

Credit: Instagram/@davidharbour

In a chat on Lily’s podcast Miss Me?, Harbour reflected on meeting the girls for the first time, admitting that fatherhood was never something he thought he wanted.

“I never really wanted to have kids, I was too scared,” he said. “I get it now – why everybody has kids. Because it’s kind of like the meaning of life. You pass the torch to these other individuals.”

He said that when he met Ethel and Marnie, everything changed: “I was scared, but almost immediately, I fell in love with them. It was that feeling people talk about when they have kids – you want to take care of them, give them anything.”

He added: “There was just an immediate sort of love for them that was so unique. They were innocent, little faces looking up at me, and that really pushed me over the edge. I realised this is a family, a pre-made family, and I want to be there for them.”

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Credit: Instagram/@lilyallen

Harbour has previously spoken about how Lily’s children were a big part of why he wanted to marry her. Back in 2021, he told Jimmy Kimmel Live about a conversation between the girls that made him realise he wanted to commit.

He recalled: “The little one was riding along going, ‘David, dad, David, dad,’ and the older one got very upset, saying, ‘He’s not our dad!’ Then the younger one said, ‘Well, what is he? He’s kind of our dad.’ And she said, ‘No, he’s not, he’s our stepdad.’ Then she goes, ‘What is he?’ and she said, ‘He’s just some guy in our lives’.”

Since the breakdown of their marriage, Harbour has been spotted spending time with the girls, most recently at Universal’s Epic Universe theme park just after Lily released her new album.

When Lily was asked recently if Harbour would still be part of her daughters’ lives, she replied: “You’d have to ask him.”

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Featured image credit: Instagram/@dkharbour