Lindsay Lohan Says She Has ‘PTSD to the Extreme’ From Being ‘Chased by’ Cameras as a Young Adult

Lindsay Lohan is reflecting on the cost of spending her formative years in the spotlight.

“I don’t ever want my family to experience being chased by the paparazzi the way I was,” Lohan, 39, told The Times of London in a Saturday, August 2, profile. “They were terrifying moments I had in my life. I have PTSD to the extreme from those things.”

Lohan started acting in 1998, when she landed her breakout role in The Parent Trap. Since then, she has been at the center of often relentless media attention. Speaking to The Times, Lohan recalled dealing with “really scary” and “the most invasive situations.”

“I pray stuff like that never comes back,” she said. “It’s not safe. It’s not fair.”

Lohan, who was born in New York and later lived in Los Angeles, has since moved to Dubai, where she met now-husband Bader Shammas. The pair reside in the United Arab Emirates with their 2-year-old son, Luai.

“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,’” Lohan explained to the British newspaper. “[It is] where my husband and I can see what is right for our child. It’s not about me anymore.”

Lohan and Shammas, 38, have also made a conscious decision to keep Luai out of the limelight, opting against sharing photos of his face on social media.