Jack Antonoff Stands by Singing Love Songs Written for Margaret Qualley

Jack Antonoff says he considered changing his tour setlist after separating from Margaret Qualley, but decided that removing the songs would feel dishonest. In an interview with The Guardian published Sunday, October 25, the Bleachers frontman said he had thought carefully about what to do with recent songs written during their relationship. He described an internal “unanimous jury” that told him to leave the setlist as it was. Antonoff said he has made an agreement with his audience to express how he feels in his music, even if that means having to stand by those feelings in public for years. He also said he does not want to rewrite his own past: the songs reflect how he felt during the happier parts of the relationship, and he sees no reason to pretend those moments never existed because things later became difficult. The musician acknowledged that the material carries sadness and pain, but said performing it has also become meaningful. He described the audience’s awareness of what the songs represent, and the way listeners connect their own experiences to them, as something beautiful. Antonoff said he would rather live through the experience publicly than avoid it privately. News of the separation emerged in July, after three years of marriage and shortly before Antonoff began his latest tour. Neither he nor Qualley has publicly explained what led to the split. Us Weekly, citing an unnamed source, reported that the couple had been dealing with issues for several years and that Qualley initiated the separation. The source pointed to busy schedules and distance among the factors, while also alleging there had been concerns about trust. The same outlet reported that the pair had tried to work on the marriage a few months earlier but had not filed for divorce at the time. Those details remain attributed to the publication’s source; Antonoff’s comments to The Guardian focused on his decision to keep performing the songs and what it means to stand behind work drawn from real feelings.