Jack Antonoff is standing behind his decision to include love songs originally written about his now-estranged wife, Margaret Qualley, on his touring setlist.
“Songs which I wrote recently, I obviously was really worried about this specific thing, I sat long and hard with it and thought: ‘If I change the setlist …’ and in my gut there was a unanimous jury that said, ‘No, this is the deal,’” Antonoff, 42, told The Guardian in a profile published Sunday, October 25. “The deal I’ve made with my audience is that I’m going to tell you honestly how I feel and I’m going to risk at any moment having to stand behind it for f***ing ever.”
News broke in July that Antonoff had separated from Qualley, 32, after three years of marriage, shortly before the Bleachers frontman embarked on his latest live tour.
“Anyone could relate to the terrible sadness and pain, but there’s a great power to it also. It’s actually been really beautiful,” Antonoff told the outlet. “I mean, for people to come together, to know what I write a song about, to know how that must feel for me now, to know what that song means to you as an audience member, to just hold it all and sort of celebrate.”
He continued, “I don’t rewrite the past, I have no shame about the things I’ve said. My life has been dedicated to making it impossible for me to rewrite the past because I’m standing there, singing about how I felt during the good times, so when the bad times hit I can’t look myself in the mirror and pretend that those times didn’t exist. I would rather live through something publicly than even escape it privately.”
While neither Antonoff nor Qualley have publicly detailed what went wrong in their marriage, a source claimed to Us that the duo had “issues for the last few years.”
“Margaret initiated the separation,” the insider exclusively told Us in July. “Both of their busy schedules and distance were factors, along with many other things like lack of trust in the marriage.”
According to the source, Antonoff and Qualley have yet to file for divorce.
“They were still trying to work on the marriage a few months ago, but it ultimately wasn’t working,” the source noted. “At some point, the rose-colored glasses came off for Margaret, and she felt she needed to take a step back.”
A rep for Qualley addressed the breakup in a statement on the actress’ behalf at the time.
“The narratives running in the press about Margaret and Jack are categorically untrue. There are no trust issues,” the spokesperson noted. “There was no infidelity or anything outside of respect and partnership in this relationship. They have deep love and care for one another.”
The statement continued, “There are only two people in this marriage, and the sources who are talking to the press and commenting on their relationship are not people who know them. Please respect their privacy.”
