Hayley Williams pays tribute to late ex-husband, New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert: “His influence and attitude guided the genre forward”

Hayley Williams has paid tribute to her ex-husband, New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert, after he passed away aged 45.

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Gilbert died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday morning (September 20), following a five-year battle with cancer.

Williams, who was married to Gilbert from 2016 to 2017, has now shared a message reflecting on the influence he had on her life and her relationship with the hardcore and pop-punk communities.

“Have not known what to say or if it’s appropriate,” she wrote on her Instagram Story today (September 23). “But I feel sure now that I want to bc life is made of the paths we cross and the reasons we cross them are infinite.”

“Chad is indeed a legend in the scene and my time connected to him taught me a lot,” Williams continued. “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 went on to celebrate Gilbert’s impact on the scene he helped shape with New Found Glory, writing: “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.”

Hayley posted a note following Chad Gilbert’s death pic.twitter.com/6FJUIPVqFM

— Paramore-Music.com (@paramoremusicom) September 23, 2026

Williams added: “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.”

Williams and Gilbert began dating in 2008 and married in Tennessee in February 2016. They announced their separation in July the following year, saying at the time that they remained “close friends who are good in each other’s eyes”.

Williams subsequently explored the relationship and its breakdown across her songwriting. Paramore’s 2017 album ‘After Laughter’ was written amid their separation, while her 2020 solo track ‘Dead Horse’ dealt more explicitly with their history.

Speaking to NME about ‘Dead Horse’, Williams said she had initially resisted writing so directly about her past.

“I did not want to write about my past that way,” she said. “I really didn’t.”

She added: “My angst and rage has been a protective layer for the softer sadness and shame that I feel. ‘Dead Horse’ came just after ripping off the last band-aid. It was about finding this bubbling lava underneath a hard stone. It was like digging up bones.”

Gilbert co-founded New Found Glory in Florida in 1997 and remained the band’s lead guitarist, backing vocalist and one of their principal songwriters for nearly three decades, helping establish them as one of the defining acts of the early-2000s pop-punk scene.

Announcing his death, his wife Lisa Cimorelli and New Found Glory said that he had “passed away peacefully in his sleep” with his wife and mother by his side.

“Chad’s guitar playing, songwriting, humor, and relentless drive helped shape New Found Glory for nearly three decades,” his bandmates wrote. “Through more than a dozen albums, endless tours around the world, and more accolades than we ever could have imagined, Chad challenged all of us to grow as musicians, performers, and human beings.”

They added: “His influence will always be part of New Found Glory and his spirit will be felt on every stage we stand on, with every note we play.”

Williams, meanwhile, is currently on the North American leg of ‘The Hayley Williams Show’ tour. Earlier this month, she brought out Rico Nasty to perform ‘Airplanes’ for the first time in 16 years, and she has also announced a UK and European tour for summer 2027.