Singer Lily Allen says her marriage to Sam Cooper and the birth of her two daughters made her unofficially retire from the music industry.

The 29-year-old took a break in 2009, and she has now admitted that one of her main motivations at the time was to concentrate on her relationship with painter and decorator Cooper, reports contactmusic.com.

Asked why she stopped making music, Allen said: "I just felt quite exhausted, you know - I'd been on tour for three years or something.

"And I'd just met this - well, I didn't meet him, because I met him when I was 15 - but I got together with Sam, who's now my husband and I wanted to give that a go. You know, just to get married and have children," she added.

The mother of two-year-old Ethel and 19-month-old Marnie says that her return to touring represents a challenge for their relationship, but Allen is still loving married life.

"It's not without its problems, you know. I'm on tour a lot and I'm away doing promotion and stuff and it's finding the right balance, really," she said.

"It's about how long I can leave my kids for before they start going mad, or how long I can be away from them," she added.