As Billie Eilish files for a restraining order against a man that broke into her home, here’s what really goes through the mind of a stalker

Billie Eilish has taken action against worrying stalking behaviour from a crazed fan, requesting a restraining order against a man that attempted to break into the family home where her parents live, according to TMZ.

The singer’s father said that Christian Anderson, 39, has visited the house numerous times since December 2022, professing his love for Billie and hoping to meet her. In fact, he was accused of breaking into the home earlier in January, in an incident that saw the police attend the property after a house sitter raised the alarm. According to the publication, Billie said the incidents caused “substantial anxiety, fear, and emotional distress” for herself, her parents and her brother Finneas, and that she no longer feels safe visiting her family home.

And this is not the first time Billie has sought action against stalking – in 2021, she won a restraining order against a man who would camp outside her house, make threatening gestures towards her and writing her sinister letters. Another instance in 2020 saw her file for a three-year restraining order against a man who would regularly trespass at her family home.

Sadly, stalking is a frighteningly common experience for women in the public eye (the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez and Rihanna have all had similar experiences), but it can happen in everyday situations, too.

While stalking is recognised as a crime in the UK – though the laws only came into force in 2012 – many campaigners are fighting for stricter measures, including a stalking register that would help to identify, track, monitor and manage serial perpetrators.

Here, a stalker, Charles*, and his victim, Kim*, open up to GLAMOUR about a case of unrequited love that turned into a dark obsession.

Charles’ story

I was naked, in the foetal position, on my bedroom floor when I sent the text: “I can’t take it any more Kim. I don’t want to live without you. I’ve just taken 15 sleeping tablets.”

While I was typing this, waiting for the pills to take effect, I was looking at a photo taken nine months earlier on my 25th birthday. It was of me and my ex-girlfriend, Kim, arms around each other, sitting on a picnic rug in a park. We’d just started dating, and from the grin on my face, it looked like I’d taken about eight ecstasy pills – that’s how euphoric I felt. I hadn’t had huge success with women before Kim, and the sense of triumph that this girl with large brown eyes and a fabulously filthy sense of humour wanted me was exciting, uncharted territory.

Yet the whole time we were together, something kept on gnawing at me – I was terrified I wasn’t good enough. I always thought, in the back of my head, that it couldn’t last, she was going to dump me. Five months later, she did. “I’ve met somebody else,” she told me softly. “I do love you, but I just don’t see this working.”

The Fallout

Of course, I cried in front of her. I tried every pleading gambit you can think of – from guilt-tripping her about my feelings, to more considered appraisals of how we could tweak things to make our love work. And she was sympathetic. She held me. I think she would have been more brutal if she’d known how I’d interpret it. Every moment we’d been together suddenly took on a sheen of perfection, and I was convinced I could win her back.