Pop star Charli XCX has opened up about how her marriage to The 1975 drummer George Daniel has transformed her music career, saying she "owes so much" to him and declaring: "I wouldn't be where I am today without him."
Creative partnership and personal support
The 33-year-old Brat hitmaker married Daniel, 36, in an intimate London ceremony in July 2025. In a candid interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, she discussed how their relationship has shaped her creative journey.
"He just gave me so much confidence in myself because he was able to balance me as a human in our private life," Charli explained. Describing how her husband makes her "really happy," she continued: "I think I owe so much to him because he has helped allow me to explore these different sides of myself in a way that sometimes still feels a bit chaotic, but sometimes feels quite safe."
Charli also shared that when she first encountered Daniel, "he was the first person who really understood me so intricately." Daniel previously co-produced and co-wrote her 2024 album Brat, which sparked a worldwide cultural movement, and she has acknowledged him as the muse behind tracks including Talk Talk.
Balancing artistry and relationship
Reflecting on the dynamics of their partnership, Charli said: "Sometimes being an artist, you do get to be selfish. It's like part of the job. When you put that into a relationship, you don't really get to be selfish all the time. Or you can, but it shouldn't be like that. You have to separate those two parts of your brain. I think that's why it works for us, because we both understand that."
She clarified that Daniel is not involved in her latest record – Music, Fashion, Film – which dropped earlier this month to glowing feedback from music journalists.
Thoughts on taking a break
The pop star, real name Charlotte Aitchison, also revisited her earlier comments about stepping away from music after Brat. She said: "After Brat I really was like, 'I'm not gonna make another record for a while'. I think everybody took that statement as like, 'oh, she's retiring'. But I really did think I would have quite a long pause – and then, inspiration struck. I feel that if that happens, you kind of have to chase it and follow it, because you don't know whether that might be the last time that it happens."
She added: "In a dream world, I would really like to take a pause after this album musically. But I don't know. If inspiration comes along, I'm not gonna deny it."
Her latest album follows her Wuthering Heights companion record for Emerald Fennell's film of the same title, alongside her film The Moment, a semi-fictional look at the launch of her Brat album.
