Lindsay Lohan, 35 became America’s favorite child actor when she starred as the Parker twins in the iconic 1998 film, The Parent Trap. Then, she grew up in front of the world’s eyes as a teen sensation, starring in hit film after film such as 2003’s Freaky Friday, 2004’s Mean Girls, and 2006’s Just My Luck. And while Lindsay’s life in the spotlight seemed to be golden, it sadly was less than behind closed doors. As Lindsay was navigating her tremendous amount of fame at such a young age, she was also dealing with a broken family. Her parents, Michael Lohan and Dina Lohan admitted to abusing drugs in front of her as she grew up and also abusing each other.
However, it seems that they have since moved past their issues and are on decent terms, as Michael told Page Six in 2019 that Lindsay and her siblings beg him and Dina, who divorced in 2007, to get back together. “As late as my last birthday, my children and I went to dinner at Per Se in NY City only to have a ‘party crasher,’ Dina, show up,” Michael recalled in an email to the publication. “Unbeknownst to me, Lindsay set it up and when Dina walked in Lindsay said, ‘Happy “Parent Trap,” Daddy!’”
Unfortunately for Lindsay, her parents don’t appear to be on the road to redemption. Read on to learn about the actress’ parents and how their love lives have evolved following their divorce.
Michael Lohan
Michael Lohan, born in 1960, is best known for being Lindsay’s father, which may be why he needed some extra cash in 2021 and got caught in an illegal money-making scheme. He was arrested in April of that year in Florida for “patient laundering,” which meant he encouraged addicts to seek treatment at a specific rehab center, which would then pay him money on the side for helping bring in patients, per NBC News. “Mr. Lohan was investigated by our Sober Homes Task Force and he’s being charged with receiving kickbacks for referring patients to drug treatment,” State Attorney Dave Aronberg told NBC at the time. “Patient brokering corrupts our health care system because decisions are motivated by greed instead of a patient’s needs. This is our Task Force’s 117th arrest and will not be our last.”
If Michael was tight on money, Lindsay may not have even known, as they had quite the turbulent relationship before his arrest. In fact, she slammed her father for using her for attention in a 2016 interview. “My father is known for talking to the press and selling stories. He loves the attention. In the past he’s said I’ve done drugs, he put my number on the internet,” Lindsay told the Daily Mail. “Who does that? Some of the stuff he’s done proves to me he doesn’t care about me.”
Dina’s relationship with Michael was not always ideal, either. In fact, Dina has accused him of physical and sexual assault, drunk driving, and drug abuse, according to the New York Daily News. She also blamed him for Lindsay’s highly-publicized struggles with drugs and alcohol. “Lindsay saw her dad abuse me — that’s why she’s so screwed up,” she told the publication in 2013. She also claimed there’s picture proof of the alleged abuse by her ex-husband, which Lindsay saw when she was younger and apparently got quite upset about.
Lindsay previously supported some of these claims when she detailed the abuse she saw her mother endure at the hands of her father. “He’s put myself and my mother and my mom’s parents through so much Hell. From the death threats to throwing shoes at my grandfather’s head and giving him a concussion to threatening to kill my mother in front of my little brother Dakota,” she recalled to the Irish Examiner in 2010. “I grew up really fast just because of the situations I was subjected to because of my father. My mom would try to shield me from that as much as possible, but I chose to get in the middle of my parents my entire life.”
Dina Lohan
The relationship Lindsay had with her father growing up is heartbreaking to imagine, and sadly, she never had a completely smooth one with her mother, either. Born in 1962, Dina Lohan is the Herbie Fully Loaded actress’ mother and former manager. She also partied with her daughter, and one night, their fun girls’ night out turned into a nightmare when the duo got into a nasty fight, which resulted in Lindsay calling her father and accusing her mother of being on drugs. “She’s saying disgusting things to me,” the actress said in 2012 audio obtained by TMZ. “I’m dead to her now.” She also said Dina was high on cocaine and was the “devil.” However, Lindsay quickly denied her allegations against her mother. “I’m really regretful about the argument I had with my mother and it being made public,” she told TMZ after the incident (via E! News). “Mothers and daughters fight. You know, I called my father and told him some really hurtful and untruthful lies about my mom. My mom does not do cocaine, clearly. And that’s a fact.”
Lindsay and Dina seemed to be on good terms until 2016, when Lindsay posted — and then quickly deleted — an Instagram Story that said, “@dinalohan … Sometimes it sucks when your mom isn’t there for you,” per Page Six. Along with the message, she shared an image of a woman dropping a phone to the ground with the words, “We’re done.”
Moving On And Taking Responsibility
By 2018, Lindsay, Michael, and Dina all seemed to be on better terms, as Lindsay confirmed there was no bad blood between her and her parents when she appeared on The Wendy Williams Show. “I think that in life, parents have their things together and sometimes the children are immersed in it and you just have to really step back and let your parents do what they do and figure out everything for themselves,” the actress, who now lives in Dubai, said (via Daily Mail). “And we all have a great relationship now so it’s nice . . . it’s much simpler that way.”
One thing that may have helped is the fact that Dina and Michael both owned up to the fact that they are at least partially responsible for Lindsay’s issues, including her six stints in rehab. “You know, I think when she was little, she saw most of the abuse. And so Lindsay did witness a lot, and I absolutely think it takes its toll on children as well,” Dina told Dr. Phil during a 2017 interview on his show. “We were, I think…inevitably we are responsible for what Lindsay did, the path that Lindsay took,” Michael added. “Our divorce, because of our relationship, affected Lindsay to the point where she drowned her sorrows and numbed her pain. And it breaks my heart to think that.” He then teared up thinking about how far Lindsay has come.
Lindsay, who announced her plan to return to acting in 2019, has a seemingly busy filming schedule, including 2022’s Falling for Christmas and 2022’s Lovestruck High. She is also engaged to Bader Shammas, who popped the question in Nov. 2021. It looks like things are finally falling into place for Lindsay!