Lily Collins Pens Forgiving Letter to Dad Phil Collins: It's Not Too Late

The Golden Globe nominee's mother was the musician's second wife

By Samantha Schnurr Mar 07, 2017 4:08 PMTags

Lily Collins is speaking her piece. 

After 27 years spent handling her famous father's limelight—and all the personal challenges that came with it—the Golden Globe-nominated actress is telling Phil Collins exactly how she feels about him today. 

In a letter written in her new memoir, Unfiltered: No Shame, No Regrets, Just Me, with excerpts published by The Daily Mail, the star puts it all out on the table. 

"We all make choices and, although I don't excuse some of yours, at the end of the day we can't rewrite the past," she penned. "I'm learning how to accept your actions and vocalize how they made me feel. I accept and honor the sadness and anger I felt toward the things you did or didn't do, did or didn't give me."

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The Grammy-winning musician, who was married three times and fathered five children, welcomed Lily with his second wife, Jill Tavelman, in 1989, and the two divorced a few years later. During their 12-year marriage, Phil was unfaithful and reflected on the infidelity in his 2016 memoir, Not Dead Yet

At a point, she addresses her father's divorce from his third wife, Orianne Cevey, and how the split influenced her battle with eating disorders. "Not only did I start viewing myself differently physically, but I began limiting my happiness by controlling my eating habits," she revealed. "I couldn't handle the pain and confusion surrounding my dad's divorce, and I was having a hard time balancing being a teenager with pursuing two different grown-up careers."

"Many of my deepest insecurities stem from these issues with my dad," the actress admitted in the book.

Despite the singer's personal blunders and the toll they took on his daughter, Lily looks forward to their future and all the possibility it holds. 

"I forgive you for not always being there when I needed and for not being the dad I expected," she wrote. "I forgive the mistakes you made. And although it may seem like it's too late, it's not. There's still so much time to move forward."