Hayley Williams has taken to Instagram to pen a brief tribute to Chad Gilbert, the lead guitarist of New Found Glory and her ex-husband, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 45.
Williams, who has not publicly discussed her relationship with Gilbert in over six years, admitted that she had “not known what to say” following the news of Gilbert’s death – or, indeed, if it was “appropriate” to do so. Ultimately, however, she wanted to because “life is made of the paths we cross, and the reasons we cross them are infinite.”
In the statement, posted to her Instagram stories and viewed by Blunt, the singer-songwriter described her ex-husband as “a legend in the scene”.
“There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about what he contributed to the musical world a lot of us grew up in,” she wrote.
“His influence and attitude guided the genre forward. His passion for fostering the community was inspiring, and sticks with me.”
Williams also noted that she would “forever be grateful” to Gilbert – who also spent time fronting the hardcore band Shai Hulud – for helping her to gain “deeper understanding and a reverence for the commuinty and the culture of hardcore”.
Read Williams’ full statement below:
Williams and Gilbert first became romantically involved in 2008, became engaged in late 2014 and wedded in February 2016. Their marriage lasted only 18 months, however, with the couple announcing their separation in June 2017.
The divorce served as the key inspiration behind the lyrics of ‘Dead Horse’, a single from Williams’ debut solo album Petals for Armor, which was released in May 2020.
Both Williams and Gilbert released new music within the past 12 months – the former with her third solo album, Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party, and the latter with New Found Glory’s 11th studio album Listen Up! Despite largely being off the road for most of the 2020s due to his illness, Gilbert still contributed guitar parts in the studio.
New Found Glory continued to tour over the last three years, with Real Friends’ David Knox subbing in for Gilbert – including a slot on last year’s Good Things festival.
Williams, meanwhile, is currently in the midst of her second solo headlining tour, ‘The Hayley Williams Show’.
It is scheduled to arrive in Australia in February 2027, where she will play two sold-out shows at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre and Melbourne’ Forum.
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