Lily Allen has felt "humiliation and shame" with dating after her split from David Harbour

She told Perfect magazine: "The dating scene is much harder as a 40-year-old woman with two teenage children than it is for a 34-year-old woman.

"It's bitterly disappointing. There's an element of humiliation and shame around it. The world doesn't portray women of my age as being desirable.

"And it just feels like climbing up a mountain. But also, at the same time, I'm like, I don't have to get involved with it. But something in me says that I do."

Lily has two daughters with her former husband Sam Cooper, who she married in 2011.

The Smile hitmaker insisted the idea of being with someone "feels like the easier option", despite her struggles with dating.

She added: "Being in a relationship is not the answer to all of my problems. In fact, it's probably the opposite.

"But it feels like the easier option. But also quite hard to achieve in this current climate."

Lily admitted her breakup from David is "really sad", and she finds it hard not being with her "person".

She said: "I don't know what I can say. Two people who were once together are not together. And that's really sad.

"It's hard. It's hard for me to not have my person, you know? And I am quite a codependent person.

"And I find it difficult to lean on the people who are available to me when I'm missing the comfort and stability of what is not available to me."

Lily recently explained that she continues to feel "compassion" for her ex

She told Vogue magazine: "There were lots of good things. My kids had an amazing experience living in America for five years, and I have a lot of compassion for my ex-husband. I think we all suffer."