For Lily Collins, the love she feels for her father, Phil Collins, is not something that fades with age or distance. It is a thread woven deeply into the fabric of her life — a bond that has shifted over the years, but one that has never loosened.
She reflects on her childhood with a sense of awe, remembering those moments when her father’s arms were the safest place in the world, when she could perch on his shoulders and see life from above. Time, of course, has moved forward. She no longer fits into his arms the way she once did. But in her heart, she knows: he still holds her close whenever she needs it most.
“We may not spend as much time together as we used to,” she admits. “But when we are face to face, you really see me.”
That simple truth carries immense weight. To be seen — not just as a daughter, but as a person, as a woman who has grown, stumbled, and risen again — is a gift that only a parent can truly give. Lily treasures that recognition, those moments of connection that remain steady no matter how busy life becomes.
She also knows that her father sometimes doubts himself, questioning whether he has always been the father she needed. To this, Lily answers with unwavering clarity: “Please trust me when I say that no matter how old I am, or what life may bring, I will always need you.”
Her gratitude is not born only from grand gestures or public successes. It lives in the small, intimate memories — evenings spent together laughing at a board game of Trivial Pursuit, or the quiet pride she felt watching him on stage, knowing the man the world admired was the same man who tucked her in at night.
“Those are the moments I cherish even more as an adult,” she says. “The ones that remind me of the simple truth: that love is not measured in time or distance, but in presence and memory.”
As she reflects, her words take the shape of a love letter, one that honors both the man and the father:
“Thank you for inspiring me, for supporting me, for helping me become the woman I am today. Your music reached the world, but your love shaped my world.”
And finally, with the simplicity of a daughter’s heart laid bare, she whispers the words that need no explanation, no elaboration:
“I love you to the moon and back.”
