Lindsay Lohan shares struggles with LA after moving to Dubai to escape Hollywood stress

After nearly 30 years in the spotlight, Lindsay Lohan took a step back from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood and uprooted her life from Los Angeles to Dubai in 2014. Since then, the "Mean Girls" actress, 38, has not only become a wife and a mother, she has found peace within herself. 

Lohan, who appears on the cover of Elle’s 2025 Summer Issue, opened up about her life overseas and what she's learned about herself, both personally and professionally, since making the move. 

"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," said Lohan, who shares 1-year-old son Luai with husband Bader Shammas. "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."

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Lindsay Lohan, who wed husband Bader Shammas in 2022, moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2014 in hopes of living a quieter life. (Getty Images)

"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."

Lohan, who began working at age 3 and gained stardom with her first movie role in the 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap," was thrown into the thick of Hollywood. Often facing public scrutiny, the "Freaky Friday" star had enough and moved to Dubai in 2014. 

"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," Lindsay told Bustle in 2024. 

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Lindsay Lohan appears on the cover of Elle's 2025 Summer Issue.  (Chris Colls/ELLE Magazine)

"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.’"

In 2022, Lohan spoke about how she was taking control of her own narrative through social media.

"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."

— Lindsay Lohan

"When I first started out in the business, none of us had a say in how to control our own narrative," she told Cosmopolitan. "There were paparazzi pictures, and then people ran with it. So I think it’s really good that, in this day and age, people can say who they are and who they want to be. And I admire and appreciate that. I’m a little jealous because I didn’t have that. But I think it moves really fast, and I just try to keep up as best I can. And I check everything before I post it. I’ll send it to people, because you have to."

"You have to take everything people say with a grain of salt and just be you and slow down because everyone’s so quick right now," she said. "People just don’t stop. You’ve got to chill."

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Lohan began working at age 3 and gained stardom with her first movie role in the 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap." (Getty Images)

After moving to Dubai, Lohan quickly learned the power of saying "no" when it comes to picking and choosing professional projects. 

"They teach you to say ‘yes’ to everything, and that’s not really what life’s all about," she told Bustle of her earlier years in the industry. "I was like, ‘What if I never fall in love? What if this never happens?' And it took me just taking time for me for all those doors to open and the ‘yeses’ to come, the things I wanted to say 'yes' to."

Since her return to the big screen, Lohan, who stars alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in "Freakier Friday," said she's found that prioritizing herself makes a huge difference in her overall well-being.

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"[Jamie and I] are both very family-oriented people. We always talk about that, and one of the other big things [she’s taught me] is to always take care of yourself first," she told Elle. "Because without that, how can you do everything for everyone else?"

Lohan has faced a lot of public scrutiny throughout her career. (Getty Images)

"I love having a routine, and I like schedules," she continued. "So, my morning routine: waking up, writing in my journal, sipping my green tea, breakfast with my son, and then Pilates, making sure I go."

Despite her hectic schedule, Lohan said the "most important thing" in her life is family. 

"I mean, it’s the most important thing: my husband, my son and me. 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."

Lohan is no stranger to criticism. With fame comes speculative curiosity, especially when it comes to her appearance. 

Lohan said she's found peace within herself since moving to Dubai in 2014. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Netflix)

Elsewhere in the Elle interview, Lohan shut down rumors that she had a facelift. The star shared the secrets behind the skincare routine that she says has dramatically altered her look.

"Everyone does Botox," Lohan said. "I drink this juice every morning. It’s like carrot, ginger, lemon, olive oil, apple. I also drink a lot of green tea, a lot of water. I’m a big pickled beets person, so I put them in almost everything. My skincare is very specific. I’m trying out some serums now that I’m doing. I’m testing them."

"Also, I’m a big believer in ice-cold water on your face when you wake up," the 38-year-old said. "I drink lemon juice a lot. I also put tons of chia seeds in my water. Eye patches I do every morning. I’m into lasers."

"I did Morpheus8 (a noninvasive radiofrequency microneedling treatment) once, and then I realized my skin is so thin that I can’t be doing that," Lohan said. 

"My skin changed after having my son. It got really sensitive. That’s what really made me change my whole routine and diet and everything. I did blood tests, and I was like, ‘I want to know everything I’m allergic to.’ So I cut everything out, and that’s kind of when everything started to change for me."