Hayley Williams Remembers Chad Gilbert’s ‘Influence and Attitude’ on Hardcore Music: ‘Forever Grateful’

Hayley Williams has shared a statement about ex-husband Chad Gilbert, following the New Found Glory founding member and lead guitarist’s death on Sunday from brain cancer.

“Have not known what to say or if it’s appropriate. But I feel sure now that I want to [because] life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite,” Williams began in an Instagram story. “Chad is indeed a legend in the scene and my time connected to him taught me a lot. He introduced me to people that continue to shape my life in beautiful ways, and to music and culture that has made life a lot richer,” she added.

Williams continued: “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. His influence and attitude guided the genre forward. His passion for fostering the community was inspiring and sticks with me. I will forever be grateful that from him I gained a deeper understanding and a reverence for the community and the culture of hardcore. Sending love and my sympathies to his family, NFG fam, and all his friends.”

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Gilbert and Williams were together from 2007 until 2017. The pair got married in February 2016, but announced that they were separating a little over a year later in July 2017. “We’ve grown up together and we’ve been beside each other through a lot of goodness and a lot of challenges,” the pair wrote at the time in a shared statement on Instagram.

In 2020, with the release of Williams’ first solo debut album Petals for Armor, the reason behind her divorce from Gilbert became clearer. On “Dead Horse,” the musician sings, “I got what I deserved / I was the other woman first.” Williams has reflected on that lyric in particular since releasing the song and album. “I needed to get some of that shit out; a splinter of shame needed to get pulled,” she told NME that same year.