Jack Antonoff isn’t rewriting his love story just because its ending changed. The Bleachers frontman revealed why he continued performing songs about his marriage to Margaret Qualley, even after their breakup turned deeply personal lyrics into something bittersweet.
The couple married in 2023, and Antonoff’s latest album, Everyone for Ten Minutes, celebrated their relationship just weeks before their separation became public. Now, the musician has chosen to face those memories onstage rather than erase them from his performances.
Jack Antonoff explains why Margaret Qualley remains part of his live performances
In an interview with The Guardian, Antonoff admitted he seriously considered changing his setlist after the split. However, his instincts told him to keep the songs, even when performing them became emotionally complicated.
“I obviously was really worried about this specific thing, 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 fucking ever,” he explained.
Rather than treating the songs as painful reminders, Antonoff found unexpected comfort in sharing them. He described the experience as beautiful, particularly when audiences understood the emotions behind the performances. “Anyone could relate to the terrible sadness and pain, but there’s a great power to it also,” he said. He added that he felt no shame about expressing his happiness during the relationship.
“I don’t rewrite the past, I have no shame about the things I’ve said,” Antonoff continued. “I would rather live through something publicly than even escape it privately.”
The decision carried particular weight because Everyone for Ten Minutes included love songs celebrating Qualley and marriage. One track, “You and Forever,” even featured the couple together in its music video. Antonoff also continued performing “Dirty Wedding Dress,” bringing new emotional layers to the material.
At a recent show at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the audience sang along passionately. He followed “You and Forever” with an acoustic performance of “I Wanna Get Better,” the Bleachers debut single shaped by his grief following his sister’s death. For Antonoff, the breakup hadn’t erased what those songs meant. Instead, performing them allowed him to honor the good times without pretending the difficult ones never arrived.
