Lily Collins branded ‘whore’ by abusive ex

8 February 2023

Lily Collins is plunged into anxiety by memories of an abusive ex who branded her a “whore”.

Lily Collins is plunged into anxiety by memories of an abusive ex who branded her a ‘whore‘

The ‘Emily In Paris’ actress, 33, is now in a healthy relationship with husband Charlie McDowell but said she still gets “triggered” about her previous toxic romance.

She said on Wednesday’s (08.02.23) episode of the ‘We Can Do Hard Things” podcast about her ex: “He would call me ‘Little Lily’... and he’d use awful words about me in terms of what I was wearing and would call me a whore and all these things.”

Adding about how his behaviour sparked feelings of “panic” and “anxiety”, Lily said: “There were awful words and then there were belittling words. I became quite silent and comfortable in silence and feeling like I had to make myself small to feel super safe.”

“The situations are completely different 10 years ago to now. That panic is what I can still get triggered by.

“Even if I’m in the most healthy relationship, there can be a moment that happens throughout the day where history comes back like that.

“It’s like a millisecond, or shorter than a millisecond, and your gut reacts, your heart starts beating, and all of a sudden you’re taken back to that moment where they said that thing to you 10 years ago, but you’re not in that situation now and that’s the trigger and it’s f****** hard. It’s awful.”

Lily, who did not share the identity of her toxic ex, has previously been romantically linked to famous faces including Taylor Lautner, Zac Efron, Chris Evans and Nick Jonas, but there is no suggestion she was talking about any of them.

She got married to Charlie in September 2021 after almost a year after they got engaged, and said online after their wedding: “What started as a fairytale, is now my forever reality. I’ll never be able to properly describe how otherworldly this past weekend was, but magical is a pretty good place to start.

“I’ve never wanted to be someone’s someone more than I do yours, and now I get to be your wife.”

Film director Charlie is the son of actors Malcolm McDowell and Mary Steenburgen, and his stepfather is ‘Cheers’ star Ted Danson, while Lily is the daughter of musician Phil Collins and Jill Tavelman.