'Madeline' from Lily Allen's album breaks silence on David Harbour affair
28 October 2025, 12:24
The woman who inspired Lily Allen's songs 'Madeline' and 'Tennis' has revealed herself.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
The question that's been on everyone's lips since Friday 24th October has been, who's Madeline?! And now it looks like we have the answer.
Last Friday, Lily Allen dropped her first album in seven years and it's left a huge impression. With it's brutally honest lyrics and cut-throat approach to re-telling the downfall of her second marriage to Stranger Things star David Harbour, West End Girl has got everyone talking.
In the album, Lily details her reluctantly entering into an open marriage with David after his initial infidelity. In her third track, 'Tennis', she details finding incriminating text messages on his phone and asks, 'Who's Madeline?'.
Then, in her fourth track, titled 'Madeline', she explains how the agreement of their open marriage worked, singing, we had an arrangement, be discreet and don't be blatant, there had to be payment, it had to be with strangers.
She then sings, but you're not a stranger, Madeline.
Who is Natalie Tippett?
In the same song, an American voice re-enacts direct messages Lily received from 'Madeline'.
Now, in conversation with Daily Mail, Natalie Tippett, a 34-year-old costume designer from New Orleans, has come forward claiming she had an affair with Lily's ex-husband David.
The mum-of-one has credits for costume design on films such as Five Nights at Freddy's, Tall Girl and The Boogyman. Most notably though, she worked on the 2023 Netflix film We Have a Ghost, starring David Harbour.
On if she'd heard 'Madeline', she said, "Of course I’ve heard the song." However, she added: "But I have a family and things to protect. I have a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and I understand this is going on. It’s a little bit scary for me."
When asked whether her private messages had inspired the lyrics, Natalie replied, "Yeah. I just don’t feel comfortable talking about it at the moment."
The lyrics that are read as messages in the song suggest Natalie had only engaged in the affair because she believed Lily was aware of it and had okayed it. People have noticed that David and Natalie follow each other on Instagram.
Speaking to The Times, Lily admitted Madeline was a "fictional character" but agreed she was a "construct of others".
Of course, Lily's album West End Girl is about David references more than just one woman but it's likely they won't come forward.
Read more music news here:
- Why did Lily Allen and David Harbour split? Cheating allegations explained
- What does 'Ah-matized' mean? Taylor Swift's sexual Wood lyrics explained
- Exclusive: Raye reveals her stolen car with songwriting books in was found
- Zara Larsson calls out fans pitting her against Tate McRae
