Key Takeaways
- Hayley Williams honored ex-husband Chad Gilbert as "a legend in the scene," crediting him with enriching her life and helping move the genre forward.
- The Paramore frontwoman sent her sympathies to Gilbert's family, friends and New Found Glory bandmates after he died peacefully in his sleep on September 20.
- Gilbert, who co-founded New Found Glory in 1997 and played on every album, had publicly battled a rare form of cancer since 2021.
Hayley Williams has broken her silence about the death of her ex-husband, New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert.
On Wednesday (September 23), the Paramore frontwoman shared a statement, beginning with the admission of not knowing whether it was "appropriate" to acknowledge the death of her ex-husband.
"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," Williams wrote. "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."
Williams concluded the statement by extending sympathy to Gilbert's family, his friends along with his New Found Glory bandmates Jordan Pundik, Cyrus Bolooki, and Ian Grushka.
Gilbert died on Sunday (September 20), passing away "peacefully in his sleep," according to a joint Instagram statement from his wife, musician Lisa Cimorelli, and New Found Glory.
Since 2021, the late musician had been open about his rare form of cancer, malignant pheochromocytoma, and having an emergency surgery to remove a rare adrenal tumor in December of that year.
The surgery was preceded by a spinal cancer diagnosis, with Gilbert undergoing chemotherapy in 2023 after the disease reached his lungs. Doctors found three tumors in his brain earlier this year, which prompted doctors to diagnose the rocker with four adrenocortical carcinoma.
Williams and Gilbert began dating in 2008 and married in February 2016, then announced their separation the following July. Gilbert married Cimorelli in October 2020, and the couple welcomed a daughter, Lily, in 2021.
Gilbert co-founded New Found Glory in 1997 and performed on every album the band made, from its 1999 debut Nothing Gold Can Stay through Listen Up!, which was released in February.
