Linda Cardellini Defends Open Marriages Amid Controversy

has shared her opinions on open relationships following her co-star 's split from after he allegedly flouted the rules of their open marriage with repeated infidelities.

The actress, 50, stars opposite the star, also 50, in DTF St Louis, as a husband and wife who find themselves entangled in a love triangle with weatherman Carl - played by  - that ends up with one of them dead.

The  limited series is named after a dating app in the show that enables married couples to have affairs, drawing unavoidable parallels to David's recent split from singer Lily, 40.

And in the wake of the pop star's highly-publicised album West End Girl, in which she detailed the turbulent end of their marriage, Linda was asked about whether the cast of DTF ever discussed open relationships with each other.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, the Dead To Me star tactfully avoided directly mentioning David - who has been attached the project since 2022 and is also an executive producer - but insisted she wasn't 'going to tell anybody how to live'.

However, she also deliberately added that it was important the both parties in an open relationship were 'respectful and kind to each other'.

'I mainly talked to Steve [Conrad, the director] about [open marriages],' she replied. 'In my group I don’t hear about [them] but that doesn’t mean it’s not out there.

'Whatever makes somebody happy, as long as you’re being respectful and kind to each other. I’m not going to tell anybody how to live.' 

Smash hit West End Girl marked Lily's first album in seven years and was recorded in just ten days, in the wake of her devastating split from David in December 2024 after she allegedly discovered his cheating. 

Released without prior notice and described as a 'brutal, tell-all masterpiece', the LP laid bare the complexities of their four-year marriage across 14 searingly honest tracks.

In the searingly-candid lyrics - which she has confessed is a blend of fact and fiction - she claims David pressured her into an open relationship, only to violate the ‘rules’ which they had set.

Lily questions if her ex is a sex addict and recounts finding a plethora of sex toys and condoms at his other apartment, which she dubs 'Pussy Palace'. 

In her most talked about track, titled Madeline, she appears to directly address David's infidelity with the mystery woman, who she gives the fictional moniker.

The lyrics see Lily appearing to suggest the couple had an open arrangement in regards to sex, as long as it was discrete, with paid strangers and not based on emotional connection.

She sings: '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.

'Why would I trust anything that comes out of his mouth?/I'm not convinced that he didn't f**k you in our house'.

The chorus reads: 'We had an arrangement/ Be discrete and don't be blatant. There had to be payment/ It had to be with strangers/ But you're not a stranger, Madeline'. 

The song also features spoken interludes from the character of Madeline where she insists to Lily over text: 'Our relationship has only ever been about sex/ I can promise you that this is not an emotional connection.

'We don't speak outside of the time we spend together/ And whenever he talks about you, it's with the upmost respect'.

Later Madeline adds: 'I hate that you're in so much pain right now/ I really don't wanna be the cause of any upset. He told me you were aware this was going on and that he had your full consent.

'If he's lying about that, then please let me know/ Because I have my own feelings about dishonesty/ Lies are not something that I want to get caught up in.'

The Daily Mail revealed that the woman behind the pseudonym Madeline, is costume designer Natalie Tippett, who is understood to have met David - who is 16 years her senior - while filming the Netflix movie We Have A Ghost in 2021, in New Orleans.

Their affair reportedly began shortly after shooting started, only a year after David and Lily tied the knot in Las Vegas.

Even after filming ended, the actor reportedly flew Natalie to his home in Atlanta, Georgia, as the affair continued behind Lily's back.

However, the hitmaker famously uncovered her husband's infidelity when she discovered his profile on celebrity dating app, , and 'joined the dots'.

She joined the app herself, pretending to be 'looking for women' – and allegedly found that her now ex-husband had already set up a dating profile.

Speaking to The Times in October, Lily seemingly confirmed that 'agreed-upon boundaries were not adhered to' in her relationship with David, while addressing how apps had made cheating easier. 

She said: 'There are usually agreed-upon boundaries in relationships. But whether those boundaries are adhered to or not is becoming a grey area all of a sudden. 

'Dating apps make people disposable and that leads to the idea that if you are not happy, there’s so much more to choose from — right in your pocket.'

Ten months before the release of West End Girl, it was revealed that the split had driven Lily to seek professional help. 

The Mail on Sunday revealed that the singer’s mental health deteriorated significantly after she returned from holiday to her marital home in New York in January.

It was reported that while she was at their Brooklyn townhouse, Lily, who is mother to Ethel, 14, and Marnie, 13, with ex Sam Cooper, felt ‘triggered’ by the thought of him being elsewhere in the city with another woman.

A source said: ‘It was very painful for Lily to return home. David used to be her saviour and now he’s a trigger for her...

'Lily settled her kids back into the family home and took them to school for their new term, then flew herself straight to rehab. She went a day earlier than intended as she felt wobbly and desperate to escape.’

She spent several weeks at the residential retreat in the US where she is said to have taken part in intensive group counselling sessions and one-on-one therapy in which she was reportedly urged to ‘unpack’ her emotions.