Hayley Williams said “I shouldn’t have ever married my ex” Chad Gilbert a year after splitting up
Hayley Williams said “I shouldn’t have ever married my ex” Chad Gilbert a year after splitting up
Aastha Dass Thu, September 24, 2026 at 10:27 AM UTC
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Singer Hayley Williams of Paramore (L) and guitarist Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory attend the 2014 Gibson Brands AP Music Awards at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on July 21, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. ©Getty
Hayley Williams opened up about her separation from her ex-husband Chad Gilbert for the first time following their divorce in 2017.
The founding guitarist of the pop-punk band New Found Glory died on the morning of September 20 at the age of 45 following a battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with a rare adrenal tumor in December 2021.
Williams and Gilbert dated for roughly a decade before marrying in February 2016. They announced their separation in 2017, over a year after tying the knot, and finalized their divorce later that year.
Hayley Williams at The Ally Coalition 11th Annual Talent Show - Source: Getty
In a June 2018 essay for Paper magazine, Williams reflected on a difficult period. She wrote that songwriting helped her realise that emotional wellness and physical health are related and added:
"It helped me realize that I shouldn't have ever married my ex and that love is not something we can just extract from one other."
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All about Hayley Williams’s divorce from Chad Gilbert amid his passing
Hayley Williams and Chad Gilbert shared a deeply unhealthy dynamic in the relationship, marked by personal struggles and a short-lived marriage.
They met around 2004 through the pop-punk and alternative music scene when Paramore began touring with New Found Glory. After developing a close bond, the two began officially dating around 2007 to 2008 before eventually getting married and then going separate ways.
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In a since-deleted post from July 2017, Williams and Gilbert said that "marriage is not for the faint of heart." According to People magazine, the post read:
“There is a challenge to trying to understand your own heart in the context of a relationship… and there is goodness in considering another heart, even in spite of your own. Marriage is not for the faint of heart. Love is an absolute risk. And it's up to each of us to stay hopeful even when the outcome isn't what we'd originally hoped for.”
In a June 2018 Paper magazine essay, Hayley Williams later expressed regret in marrying Gilbert. She discussed her realization that she shouldn't have gone through with the wedding after previously calling off their engagement. She recalled:
“I had a wedding ring on, despite breaking off the engagement only months before. A lot happened within a short time. But then I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, I didn't laugh … for a long time.”
Chad Gilbert of New Found Glory Performs At O2 Academy Oxford - Source: Getty
Their relationship started as an affair while Gilbert was married to his first wife, Sherri DuPree. In her solo song, Dead Horse, Hayley Williams directly addresses this with the lines:
“And after all, it’s only fair, yeah / I got what I deserved; I was the other woman first / Other others on the line / But I kept trying to make it work.”
The complicated relationship dynamics took an emotional as well as physical toll on Williams, which eventually led to their divorce. Over the years, their relationship status shifted, and they were no longer close friends.
However, following Gilbert’s passing, Williams shared a tribute for her ex-husband on her Instagram Story. She said she hadn’t known what to say or whether it was appropriate, but decided to speak because “life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite.”
Williams described Gilbert as a “legend” in the music scene and said that he taught her a lot. She said that Gilbert introduced her to people who have contributed to shaping her life in “beautiful ways.” She further credited him for introducing her to music and culture.
Hayley Williams closed her message by noting that she will “forever be grateful that from him I gained a deeper understanding and a reverence for the community and the culture of hardcore.”
Chad Gilbert is survived by his third wife, Lisa Cimorelli; daughter, Lily and mother, Jackie.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
