Lindsay Lohan, 39, is busy filming the forthcoming Freaky Friday sequel, and her first-ever starring role in a television series, the Hulu adaptation of Sophie Stava’s Count My Lies. So, she doesn’t get much time to spend at home. While her career is taking off, Lindsay has no plans to move back to Hollywood.
The Parent Trap actress moved to Dubai in 2014 and now lives there with her husband, Bader Shammas, 38, and son, Luai, two. Lindsay opened up to Elle about why she loves Dubai and why it’s the perfect place for her and Bader to raise their son.
“It’s hard in L.A.,” she explained to Saturday Night Live‘s Chloe Fineman during the interview. “Even taking my son to the park, I get stressed. I’m like, ‘Are there cameras?'”
© Getty ImagesWhile Lindsay feels the most stressed in Los Angeles, she enjoys New York City. “In New York, there’s no worry, no one bothers us. Everyone has their own thing going on,” she said. “There’s a different kind of energy in New York. I’d rather have downtime [there] than I would in L.A.”
But, as any New Yorker will tell you, it’s a crowded city. And Lindsay enjoys that space.
“The funny thing is, in Dubai I get all of those things,” she told Chloe. “I get the privacy, I get the space. I don’t have to worry there. I feel safe.” While Lindsay aims to spend half of the year in Dubai, with her work picking up, it’s difficult. “I want to spend more time there,” she explained.
© Getty ImagesLindsay’s family
Lindsay’s connection to Dubai isn’t just based on her desire for privacy. Lindsay met her husband in the city in 2019. A few years later, Lindsay and Bader were married.
In 2022, Lindsay announced their nuptials to her 15.7 million Instagram followers, writing: “I am stunned that this is my husband. My life and my everything. Every woman should feel like this everyday.”
A year after the two wed, Lindsay announced they were expecting their first baby. In July 2023, they welcomed Luai, which means “shield or protector” in Arabic – the official language of Dubai.
© InstagramWhile Luai’s mom is a millennial woman’s favorite actress, he has no idea how famous she is.
“I don’t think he really knows [that I’m an actress] yet,” Lindsay told Elle. “In my trailer, one day I was watching the original guitar scene [from Freaky Friday] and practicing movements and he was there [saying] ‘Mama,’ pointing at the screen.”
Lindsay and Bader haven’t welcomed any more children just yet, but she revealed: “Once you have one kid, you’re like, ‘Oh, my kid needs a kid to play with.”
And Lindsay knows that well. She’s the oldest of four siblings, Michael Jr., Aliana, and Dakota.
© Instagram“There’s nothing like that [sibling relationship]. Also, I don’t know if it’s selfish – but I need more than one kid to take care of me when I’m older.”
