Have you ever heard the phrase ‘relationships sink when they have too many passengers’? Hayley Williams had a similar situation with his ex-husband. Their fling didn’t start on the right foot and became the very thing that ruined the relationship later down the line. Hayley wrote about her past marriage with New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert in the song ‘Dead Horse.’
Here’s what the singer went through and how she came out the other side.
The Heart Wants What It Wants
Even if it comes with a lot of baggage.
Williams’s relationship with the guitarist began back in late 2007, but he was married to Eisley vocalist Sherri DuPree-Bemis at the time. Hayley knew Chad was married.
Williams and Gilbert got engaged in 2014 after years spent together. They were married almost two years later, but the marriage didn’t last long — they split up in the summer of 2017. Fans were watching everything falling to pieces, but they didn’t know what actually happened until Williams released her solo album and the track ‘Dead Horse.’
Hayley wrote about love in all Paramore tracks, and openness was something she had to nurture. Her debut album was Hayley leaning into her inner self and emotions more. She talked about having a relationship with a married man, and the shame that followed her after what she did to Sherri in ‘Dead Horse.’
She Felt Remorse
In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Williams admitted she felt guilty throughout her 20s about her relationship with Gilbert. She thinks sharing her story with the world made it less scary:
“It gives people a chance to actually know me and decide if they like me or not.”
She also talked about how she tried to make the relationship work in the song. She knew it should’ve ended long ago, and her then-husband cheating and betraying her was the last straw before the Paramore singer ended it for good.
The good news in this story is that Williams has since moved on from her 2017 divorce and is now dating the Paramore guitarist Taylor York. It’s important not to repeat mistakes but to learn from them, and Hayley seems to have found her groove with her current relationship.
