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Lindsay Lohan knew from the moment she starred in “The Parent Trap” that she wanted to be an actress, but fame was not something she was prepared for.
The “Freakier Friday” star was infamously chased and prodded by paparazzi during her teens and early 20s. She was pals with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, who experienced similar treatment from the media in the early 2000s.
Due to Lohan’s unique upbringing — going from child star to years of dodging paparazzi — the star and her husband, Bader Shammas, decided to raise their son, Luai, in Dubai.
Lindsay Lohan has PTSD from her time being chased by paparazzi in the early 2000s. (Photo by James Devaney/GC Images)
“I don’t ever want my family to experience being chased by the paparazzi the way I was. They were terrifying moments I had in my life — I have PTSD to the extreme from those things,” Lohan recently told The Times.
LINDSAY LOHAN SHARES STRUGGLES WITH LA AFTER MOVING TO DUBAI TO ESCAPE HOLLYWOOD STRESS
“The most invasive situations. Really scary. And I pray stuff like that never comes back. It’s not safe. It’s not fair,” she added.
“I don’t ever want my family to experience being chased by the paparazzi the way I was. They were terrifying moments I had in my life — I have PTSD to the extreme from those things.”
Decades after Lohan spent the majority of her 20s trying to evade paparazzi, she has noticed it’s not as bad for her as it used to be.
“I feel that it doesn’t happen as badly now as it did. It was way worse when I was younger, but now, because of social media, people can tell their own story in the way that you want it to be told. It has reclaimed the ownership of your life.”
Lindsay Lohan was 11 when she starred in “The Parent Trap.” (Reuters)
“We didn’t have that and so, no, I don’t think anybody chose that life, but what I have learnt over time is how to separate my private life and public life, and that was difficult for me because nobody ever teaches you how to do that,” Lohan told the outlet.
Lohan made the move to Dubai from Los Angeles in 2014.
Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton in November 2006. (Photo by Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
“I lived like that and it’s not who I am. Dubai is a safe place where we can just have a normal life, outside of what I call ‘the noise’. Where my husband and I can see what is right for our child. It’s not about me anymore,” she explained.
Lohan previously revealed the lack of privacy in LA left her stressed out.
“It’s hard in L.A. Even taking my son to the park in L.A., I get stressed. I’m like, ‘Are there cameras?’ In New York, there’s no worry; no one bothers us,” the “Mean Girls” star told Elle magazine in May.
Lindsay Lohan and her husband, Bader Shammas, live in Dubai with their son. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Netflix)
“Everyone has their own thing going on. There’s a different kind of energy in New York. I’d rather have downtime in New York than I would in L.A.”
“But the nice thing about L.A. is, I like space [and you get that here]. But I’m thinking as I’m saying this, the funny thing is, in Dubai I get all of those things. I get the privacy, I get the peace, I get the space. I don’t have to worry there. I feel safe.”
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The “Freaky Friday” star told Bustle in 2024 that her childhood was tainted by growing up in the spotlight.
“I feel like some of [my work] got overshadowed by paparazzi and all that kind of stuff when I was younger, and that’s kind of annoying. I wish that part didn’t happen.”
Chad Michael Murray, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan star in “Freakier Friday.” (Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty Images)
“I feel like that kind of took on a life of its own. So that’s why I wanted to disappear. I was like, ‘Unless there’s no story here, they’re not going to focus on just my work,'” she told the outlet.
Recently, Lohan was a guest on “LIVE with Kelly and Mark,” where she explained she lives a “normal life” in Dubai.
“It’s just far away from Hollywood. And I live a very normal life. There’s no worry of like, I can’t go eat at this place because someone’s going to take a picture of my son. It’s just — I feel very safe.”
Lindsay Lohan left Los Angeles for Dubai in 2014. (James Devaney/GC Images)
“It’s not legal,” she explained, of paparazzi taking photos. “You can’t even take a picture of someone else if you’re at a restaurant. You have to ask the person. Which is a big difference. The privacy is unique.”
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Since her return to the big screen, Lohan, who stars alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Chad Michael Murray in “Freakier Friday,” said she’s found that prioritizing herself makes a huge difference in her overall well-being.
For Lohan, family is also a priority.
Lindsay Lohan says her family is her priority. (Getty Images)
“I mean, it’s the most important thing: my husband, my son and me,” she told Bustle. “It’s all about balance and, as I said, routine. Especially when you have a kid, routine is the most important thing. And whatever their routine is, I’ve got to live by that.”
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Fox News Digital’s Lauryn Overhultz contributed to this report.