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Will Lily Collins’ Surrogate Baby Heal the Wounds of Her Parents’ Toxic Divorce?

BBG News

Nestled within the comforts of their $3 million residence in fashionable Pasadena, near Los Angeles, Lily Collins and her film director spouse, Charlie McDowell, have chosen to keep a low profile this week.

Lily, who is 35 years old, has taken a couple of strolls with her daughter, Tove Jane. The news about the unexpected birth of Tove, delivered by an anonymous surrogate, was made public on February 1st.

It’s understandable that they might feel the need to isolate themselves after such a surprising revelation, given the harsh reactions they encountered.

The question arose as to why the actress who plays Emily in Paris, Lily, hadn’t given birth (or wasn’t able to) to her child, with certain critics likening surrogacy to wealthy individuals leasing women’s bodies.

The uproar led Charlie, aged 41, to speak up against insensitive remarks and offensive language, assuring his social media audience: “It’s alright if you don’t understand why someone may require a surrogate to have a child.

After being corrected, the discussions quieted down, but the online discourse, centered around the moral implications of surrogacy and its stricter regulation in the UK compared to the US, remains lively.

Jill, Lily’s mother, remains steadfast beside her during the chaos, offering silent encouragement and guiding her through the confusion of new motherhood. Furthermore, she ensures to keep all confided secrets protected.

Among Lily’s parents, Jill Tavelman, who is less frequently recognized, was the second spouse of famous rockstar Phil Collins. In 1994, when Lily was only five, she and Phil, a drummer and later lead vocalist for Genesis, parted ways contentiously following a heated disagreement that ended in a fax transmission.

The divide significantly impacted Lily, causing her to experience turbulent teenage years filled with anxiety, damaging relationships, and an eating disorder that left her incapacitated.

Following the divorce, Jill obtained sole custody of Lily and peacefully returned to her hometown, Los Angeles. While she did so, Phil relocated to Switzerland for a third marriage, this time to Swiss interpreter Orianne Cevey, who was 24 years younger than him. The union ultimately ended in disaster.

Currently, Jill manages a vintage store named Waverly on Doheny, which is situated in the vibrant district of West Hollywood. It takes Lily merely half an hour to reach this shop from her residence.

This unique spot is adorned with antique carnival signages, mannequins, and aged posters, as seen through the windows. During a recent visit by the Mail, a new grandmother named Jill could be found peacefully reading a book in the rear area.

Three sweet photographs of Jill and Lily, with matching smiles, take pride of place on the wall.

Overjoyed and at ease, Jill was beaming with joy upon the arrival of her first grandchild, and yet, refrained from expressing her feelings verbally.

As a grandmother, Jill undoubtedly wishes to replicate the role that her mother, Jane Hale, held in Lily’s life. Lily often speaks fondly about her cherished ‘Nannie’, who was a skilled dancer, choreographer, and 40s pin-up. Tragically, she passed away in 2006 at the age of 81. Tove shares her middle name as a tribute to her.

Jill once remarked about their connection, saying, “My gift for talent jumped over me and found Lily. Whenever I gaze upon my daughter, I can see Jane as clear as day. She’s carrying on Jane’s legacy, and I know Jane would be thrilled to see her granddaughter continuing in her footsteps.

It was them who were left to clean up the aftermath when Phil decided to end his marriage. In her 2017 memoir, Unfiltered, Lily confessed that Phil’s departure drove her to seek perfection, placing an immense burden on herself to be his flawless ‘little girl’.

She penned that since her father frequently left, she avoided actions that might prolong his absence further. To prevent him from thinking she was upset or unappreciative, she became extra cautious with her words and expressions. In reality, she felt angry. Her longing for him was profound, and she wished he was always present.

A significant portion of my most profound fears can be traced back to challenges with my father. It has taken more than a decade for me to address and find resolutions for some of these issues, while others are ongoing and I am still mustering the strength to talk to him about them.

Today, I find myself at peace with Philip, who’s currently battling health issues at 74 years old. I’ve chosen to let go of my past expectations of him as a father.

Interestingly, despite their rocky past, Jill and Phil maintain a strong friendship as well. In an interview, he expressed his pride in being able to call his former spouse not just a friend, but a great one, in spite of their difficult separation.

Jill still holds some fond feelings towards her former spouse, as demonstrated by a touching Instagram post she shared last August, marking what would have been their 40th wedding anniversary. In this poignant message, she reminisced about the ‘cherished memories’ of that ‘bittersweet day’, having first met during a Genesis tour at the Rainbow Bar on Hollywood’s Sunset Strip in 1980.

At that moment, Jill, who was then pursuing a career in teaching, remained unfazed by celebrities. Her father, a renowned fashion designer based in Beverly Hills, had once dressed the iconic Groucho Marx. Impressively, Phil requested her phone number only to later misplace it. However, he managed to trace her through his team.

Then, rather than take her on a date, he asked her to accompany him on the rest of his US tour.

She ditched her teaching course and said yes.

The couple relocated to England and established themselves at The Old Croft, a six-bedroom property valued at approximately £3.5 million, situated peacefully in Shalford, Surrey. Phil had jointly purchased this house with Andrea Bertorelli, his first wife from Canada, whom he divorced in 1980 due to accusations of infidelity with the decorator; a claim she refuted.

Over time, the locals grew to love Jill, and the duo frequently visited The Queen Victoria Pub. In the year 1984, they exchanged vows at Guildford Registry Office, which was followed by a lively reception graced by music icons Eric Clapton and Robert Plant.

Not long after, they relocated to Loxwood, a quaint hamlet straddling the border with West Sussex. To this day, Jill remains its owner, and in spite of all that has transpired, cherishes every moment spent there. As she expressed online last summer, ‘My heart finds solace in the rolling English hills.’

That’s where Lily, along with Charlie, their dog Redwood, and possibly others, celebrate Christmas. Lily also cherishes her childhood memories from England. “I’d often dash into the garden, pretending to be a fairy and frolicking with the animals and woodland creatures,” she reminisced.

In the tale of our love, it didn’t have the fairy-tale ending I had hoped for. As Phil embarked on his tour, I found ourselves drifting apart, discovering our differences more and more. Then, something unexpected happened: Phil’s attention was caught – initially by Lavinia Lang, an old spark from 1992, with whom he shared a six-week romance.

He openly admitted everything to Jill, leading to heated arguments that undoubtedly affected little Lily. At the time, she was only three years old. Despite this, they remained together for a span of two years before he crossed paths with Orianne Cevey, a translator accompanying Genesis on their tour.

1994 saw an incident known as “fax scandal”, where a fax sent by Phil, who was on tour in Frankfurt, to Jill at their home in Loxwood, got leaked to a British tabloid. The content of the fax was: ‘I am extremely frustrated with your behavior, Jill. I will not be returning home on Thursday … It seems like it’s you who has the issue.’

Phil maintains that he wasn’t concluding their relationship through a fax, but rather carrying on a discussion they had begun in person. Due to unavailability over the phone, he chose to send a fax from his dressing room as an alternative.

He later admitted he was ‘a bit of a b*****d’ at the time.

Jill and Lily returned to Los Angeles, with the help of their grandmother Nannie Jane. Their family owned a mansion on Sunset Boulevard and received a £17 million divorce settlement, which provided them a comfortable lifestyle.

1994 saw Jill sharing with People magazine that things were tough. Lily, who was missing her father, had not seen him for two months. She often cried, “I want my Daddy.” Although Phil would send faxes, it was evident that Lily yearned to hear his voice directly. Unfortunately, Phil didn’t call because he needed to conserve his voice for the following day.

As soon as Lily began attending school, some of the other kids would mock her for her British accent. Eager to blend in, she decided to imitate their way of speaking, as documented in her autobiography.

During her teenage years, she encountered a string of harmful relationships, dating individuals with substance abuse issues. At the age of 16, she fell into the grip of an eating disorder. In her narrative, Lily discusses her dependence on diet pills and laxatives. Initially, she struggled with anorexia, followed by bulimia, bingeing on unhealthy food only to induce vomiting using a toothbrush.

1. “She mentions that her throat felt scorched, and her esophagus hurt terribly,” she explains.

2. “Her periods ceased for a period of two years, leaving her life in disarray. She was petrified that this might have jeopardized any possibility of having children in the future.”

In my own journey towards wellness, I found myself relying heavily on the kindness and aid provided by friends and family in Los Angeles. Together, we worked tirelessly to regain my health. However, even after making significant progress, remnants of pain lingered. It was only last year, during a candid interview for a magazine, that I admitted I was still very much in the process of recovery.

The actress has often expressed her wish for having children, possibly driven by a yearning to establish a secure family environment she missed growing up. Remarkably, her past struggles with her health didn’t lead to lasting complications. She felt immense relief when a gynecologist confirmed that she was fit and healthy.

‘After all I had put my body through, I hadn’t screwed myself up for good,’ she wrote.

Regarding the kind of mother she aspires to become, there’s no room for ambiguity. Lily expresses a desire to emulate her own mother, who serves as her closest friend, consistently supportive and enjoyable, yet maintains boundaries where respect is due. In essence, she aims to be half as wonderful a mother to her child as her mother was to her.

Jill takes immense pride in how Lily has grown as a person. She deeply admires Charlie, who Lily wedded in 2021, and she’s overjoyed by the worldwide fame Lily achieved through the Netflix show “Emily in Paris.

Lately, Lily has been drawing crowds at London’s Duke of York Theatre in the play titled Barcelona, which concluded its 12-week run on January 11. On one particular night, Jill was present, giving a stern, maternal glance to the theater critic seated next to her: “Remember me when you’re writing your reviews.

These days, Lily’s stardom surpasses that of her father, primarily due to his health problems causing him to retreat from the spotlight. Meanwhile, Lily’s achievements are at their peak, leading people to more frequently identify Phil as ‘Lily Collins’s father’, rather than vice versa.

It’s not merely a coincidence; the final post she shared on social media, which happened to be two days prior to her baby announcement, was actually a heartfelt birthday tribute to Phil.

As I grow older, I find myself cherishing even more deeply those small, precious instances we’ve shared together. (She wrote this)

She may be an actress, a wife, a mother, but all she craves, even now, is to make her father proud.

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2025-02-09 03:22

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