'I was so lost': Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson’s daughter Lily Sastry breaks silence on parents' divorce

The 30-year-old artist and performer revealed in a new online post that the breakdown of her family left her struggling with “chaos”, “loneliness” and a deep sense of not belonging.

“I went through so much chaos and loneliness in my twenties. Now I am 30, I can see clearly where I was at and what was happening inside me during the darkest days,” she wrote, adding: “I was so lost, and only really started to feel vaguely normal in my late twenties. I have always been trapped between worlds; do not belong here, but also don't belong there.”

Lily is the daughter of Mr Bean and Blackadder star Atkinson, 70, and his ex-wife Sunetra Sastry, 67, a former BBC make-up artist. The couple were married for 24 years before separating in 2014. Their divorce was finalised in 2015 on the grounds of Rowan’s “unreasonable behaviour.”

At the time, the family had been building an £11 million home in Oxfordshire. Following the split, Atkinson moved into a £4 million property in Hampstead, while Sunetra remained in a £21 million London mansion he had purchased for her the previous year.

Since the divorce, Atkinson has been in a relationship with actress Louise Ford, 44, with whom he shares a child. The pair met in 2013 during a stage production of Quartermaine’s Terms. Ford was previously in a relationship with comedian James Acaster, who later said he found out about their breakup through a newspaper article.

Lily, who now works as a professional artist and held her debut exhibition in London in December, shared that it took years for her to find herself.

“It’s hard to find out who you are in the midst of no friends, a broken family, and no idea how to navigate making music and trying to understand the world,” she said.

“It has taken me years to figure out my life and who I am, as well as become the best person I can be. I have made countless mistakes, and been hurt, lost, and alone many a time.”

She added that her passion for the arts helped her cope: “Art was my guiding light. The thing that made all the suffering worth it; as I was working towards a goal, a dream.”

In the years following her parents’ divorce, Lily changed her surname from Atkinson to Sastry, adopting her mother’s name. This sparked speculation about a potential rift with her father 0 especially after she removed traces of him from her public profile. However, a spokesperson for Lily later told the Daily Mail, saying: “There is no truth in the idea that Rowan and Lily have fallen out.”

Father and daughter were later seen together at the 2018 premiere of Johnny English Strikes Again, attending the after-party in London’s Mayfair. Lily’s brother, Ben Atkinson, 31, currently serves as an officer in the Royal Gurkha Regiment.