Salacious Rumors About Stranger Things Star David Harbour

On the off chance you haven't listened to Lily Allen's "West End Girl" album, here's a spoiler: It contains a lot of digs towards her ex-husband, "Stranger Things" star David Harbour. In fact, that may even be an understatement, as Allen's fifth studio album brings to light a whole lot of salacious rumors about the actor. 

Allen and Harbour's relationship started in 2019, with the couple meeting on Raya that year. They moved fast, marrying in Las Vegas in 2020, and in an interview with The Times, the singer gushed that it felt different to any of the other relationships she'd been in previously. She was also asked whether the marriage was a monogamous one, to which she replied, "At this point it is. And I'd like it to stay that way."

Enter the first of the crude accusations Allen has levelled at her now-ex-husband — that is, that he pressured her into an open marriage. In the titular track of "West End Girl," the song ends with Allen receiving a FaceTime call. Though only Allen's voice is audible, it's clear that the conversation is with her partner, and certainly seems as though she's being asked for an open marriage "arrangement." More than that, though, it's clear from Allen's voice that she's not comfortable with the idea, breaking slightly as she tells him, "I mean, it doesn't make me feel great." She hints at that again in another song on the album, "Nonmonogamummy," which sees the singer reveal, in part, "I don't wanna f*** with anyone else, I know that's all you wanna do / I'm so committed that I'd lose myself 'cause I don't want to lose you." Unsurprisingly, a slew of online chatter about the pros and cons of nonmonogamy in a marriage ensued, with Harbour's name at the center of it all. 

Next up, there's the rumor that David Harbour overstepped the rules he and Lily Allen established going into an open marriage. Though much of the "West End Girl" album hints that might be the case, "Tennis" and "Madeline" makes that alleged violation significantly more explicit. 

In the former, Allen sang about unintentionally seeing a text on her husband's phone from someone named Madeline. "You moved the goalposts, you've broken the rules / Tried to accommodate, but you took me for a fool," she sings, before ending with a repeated question: "Who is Madeline?" The following song, the aptly named "Madeline," offered more clarity on the matter, depicting a conversation between her and Madeline. "How long has it been going on? Is it just sex or is there emotion? / He told me it would stay in hotel rooms, never be out in the open," she questions. In the chorus, she doubled down. "We had an arrangement / Be discreet and don't be blatant / There had to be payment / It had to be with strangers / But you're not a stranger, Madeline," Allen croons. Yikes. 

Though Allen told The Times that Madeline is nothing more than a "fictional character," just one day after the song's release, a woman by the name of Natalie Tippett said that wasn't the case. In addition to confirming that the Harbour affair rumor was true, Tippett also told the Daily Mail that she was the real-life Madeline. Tippett also shared that the affair had begun just one year into Harbour's marriage to Allen, and that the portions of "Madeline" where Allen's antagonist responded to her were actually messages she'd sent. However, she continued to say she was frightened by how big the situation had become, saying, "I don't feel comfortable talking about it at the moment." Harbour did not comment.

As if rumors about pressuring someone into an open marriage and then violating the rules of that arrangement weren't bad enough, Lily Allen also accused David Harbour of being a sex addict in the track, "P***y Palace."

"I didn't know it was your p***y palace ... I always thought it was a dojo," Allen sings in part, before adding the zinger. "So am I looking at a sex addict, sex addict, sex addict, sex addict?" she asked. Allen went on to accuse Harbour of having a "double life" and described him as "so f***ing broken."

It does bear mentioning that in spite of the seemingly pointed lyrics (and the fact that a number of Harbour's exes have liked Allen's Instagram posts about "West End Girl"), the singer has also said that parts of the album were purely creative. "There are things that are on the record that I experienced within my marriage, but that's not to say that it's all gospel," she told British Vogue. Likewise, speaking to The Times she said, "I don't think I could say it's all true — I have artistic license." Even so, she told both outlets that there certainly were elements of truth about her marriage to Harbour in the album. As for Harbour himself, as with the rumors about the affair with Natalie Tippett, he stayed mum. However, months prior to Allen's album release, he alluded to the drama in the breakup of their marriage and made it clear he had no desire to address it, telling GQ, "There's no use in that form of engaging ... because it's all based on hysterical hyperbole." Similarly, he told Esquire that he struggled with the idea of regret because it ultimately gave him something to tap into creatively.

Moving away from his marital drama with Lily Allen, one particularly interesting rumor about David Harbour is that he allegedly bullied his "Stranger Things" co-star, Millie Bobbie Brown. This, despite their relationship seemingly being so tight in the past that Harbour spoke about worrying about Brown as though she was his own daughter. As a brief refresher, while discussing their bond in a 2021 episode of "That Scene with Dan Patrick," Harbour gushed, "I have a real protective feeling for her ... and I've just always felt this kind of deep fatherly affection for her."

In light of all that, it certainly came as a surprise in November 2025 when an insider told the Daily Mail that Brown filed an official complaint prior to the start of filming the last season in which she accused Harbour of bullying and harassment. Though the source declined to share any of the specific details about Brown's claims, they did say that there were allegedly "pages and pages of accusations." Moreover, the insider shared, those claims had reportedly been subject to a months-long internal investigation. 

Evidently, Harbour's marriage to Allen had yet to implode at the time of the accusations because the Daily Mail's source did also point out that the singer had stood by him during the investigation. "Lily supported him throughout it all. It was a brutal time," they recounted. Naturally, the reports prompted internet users to go back and look for signs of trouble, and many have pointed to an MTV interview in which Brown laughed off the possibility of Harbour officiating her wedding to then-fiance (now husband) Jake Bongiovi as a smoking gun. However, it's also possible that was just an off-the-cuff quip. What's more, neither Brown nor Harbour have made any public comments about the situation, even declining to respond to the Daily Mail's questions.

Given all the drama surrounding his marriage to Lily Allen and the investigation brought on by Millie Bobby Brown's complaints against him, David Harbour's absence on the worldwide press tour for the final season of "Stranger Things" certainly did get the rumor mill spinning yet again. 

Harbour's absence on the tour was ultimately chalked up to scheduling issues, as he was filming "Evil Genius" at the time. However, he was also notably silent on social media, and because he'd promoted previous seasons of "Stranger Things" on his Instagram (and jokingly showcased merch in his 2019 Architectural Digest house tour), fans of the show noticed right away. Granted, in the wake of Allen's "West End Girl" album release, Harbour did seem to take something of a hiatus, turning off his comments dating right back until May 2022. Even so, his detractors certainly didn't hold back in the posts predating that, taking him to task for the tension with Brown. Tagging both actors, one Instagram user wrote, "Can you stop your s***. We just want to watch 'Stranger Things' we've waited for so long and enjoy it without your Hollywood's drama s*** behind." Others have been more concerned about his marital conduct, referencing Allen's lyrics in comments like, "Does production pay for your dojo?'" Of course, not everyone has been as critical of Harbour. In fact, one Instagram user implored others to hold off on the disapproval, writing, "Judging based on rumors is easy, being fair and thoughtful takes courage." 

Time will tell if Harbour decides to address any of the gossip about his behavior and his character. However, based on what he told GQ — that is, that giving rumors airtime would only create "a salacious s***show of humiliation" — we're not banking on it.