Jack Antonoff has said he will continue performing love songs inspired by his marriage to Margaret Qualley, despite the couple’s separation in July.
The Bleachers frontman and music producer, 42, discussed the decision in an interview published on Sunday. Antonoff and the 32-year-old actress had been married for almost three years.
He said he had initially considered changing his setlist after their relationship ended, but chose to keep songs written about their happier times together.
“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,” he said.
Antonoff said his music had always been rooted in honesty, and that performing the songs had become a meaningful experience rather than something he wanted to avoid.
“It’s actually been really beautiful,” he said, explaining that concerts allowed him and his fans to acknowledge the pain of the split while still recognising what the songs represented when they were written.
“I don’t rewrite the past, I have no shame about the things I’ve said,” Antonoff added. “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.”
Among the songs he continues to perform are dirty wedding dress and you and forever, both from Bleachers’ latest album, Everyone for Ten Minutes.
Qualley appeared with Antonoff in the music video for you and forever, released in February, several months before their separation became known.
Antonoff also referred to the break-up during a Bleachers concert in September, when he declined a fan’s request for Let’s Get Married, telling the audience: “Read the news, brother.”
The couple began dating in 2021 and married in New Jersey in August 2023. Their separation was confirmed in July, while Qualley’s representative denied speculation that cheating or trust issues had caused the relationship to end.
Neither Antonoff nor Qualley has publicly confirmed the specific reason for the end of their marriage.
