"I'm going to tell you honestly how I feel": Jack Antonoff reflects on performing songs inspired by ex Margaret Qualley months after their breakup

Jack Antonoff is opening up about performing love songs he wrote about his ex-wife, Margaret Qualley, following their separation after nearly three years of marriage.

The Bleachers frontman, 42, discussed the experience in an interview with The Guardian published Sunday, Oct. 25.

Despite the personal nature of the songs and the new meaning they have taken on since the breakup, Jack Antonoff described performing them as “really beautiful.”

The singer-songwriter and producer also explained that he would not change his approach to performing the tracks, even if revisiting them became more difficult.

“Songs which I wrote recently, I obviously was really worried about this specific thing.”

Jack Antonoff said he spent considerable time thinking about whether he should change his setlist now that his relationship with Margaret Qualley, 32, had ended. Ultimately, he decided to continue performing the songs as originally intended.

“I sat long and hard with it and thought, ‘If I change the setlist …’ and in my gut there was a unanimous jury that said, ‘No, this is the deal. 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****** ever.’ ”

The interview marks Jack Antonoff’s first time addressing the couple’s split in an interview.

People magazine confirmed in July that the pair had separated after nearly three years of marriage.

Jack Antonoff and Margaret Qualley: Relationship Timeline

The former pair first met in 2021 at a rooftop party, and within the months that followed, they sparked romance rumors, especially after they were photographed kissing in Brooklyn.

They made their public red-carpet debut at the 2022 AFI Awards Luncheon and attended the Critics' Choice Awards together, going Instagram-official shortly after.

In May that year, Margaret Qualley debuted a diamond engagement ring at the Cannes Film Festival, and they confirmed their engagement.

In August 2023, Antonoff and Qualley tied the knot in a star-studded wedding ceremony on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Their guest list included Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, and Zoë Kravitz.

However, in July 2026, Antonoff attended Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding festivities solo with his sister Rachel.

At the time, breakup speculation had begun hitting the headlines as Qualley reportedly archived/deleted their wedding photos from her Instagram.

Does Jack Antonoff still perform the songs he wrote for Margaret Qualley?

In his conversation with The Guardian, Antonoff shared that he would still perform the songs he wrote for his ex-wife, explaining that he didn’t want to “rewrite the past.”

He added:

“I have no shame about the things I’ve said. 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.”

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The producer continued:

“I would rather live through something publicly than even escape it privately."

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