Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne split after 22 years of marriage
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne have announced the end of their 22-year marriage.
Arcade Fire’s Win Butler and Régine Chassagne have separated after 22 years of marriage.
The musicians have vowed that the group - which also includes Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara - will continue, despite ending their union, and the pair will co-parent their son, born in April 2013.
A statement shared on the group's social media channels read: “After a long and loving marriage, Win and Régine have decided to separate. They continue to love, admire and support each other as they co-parent their son.”
It continued: "Their work in Haiti and KANPE continues and their bond as creative soul mates will endure, as will Arcade Fire.
"The band send their love and look forward to seeing you all on tour soon."
Their split comes three years after Butler was accused of sexual misconduct by four people in the summer of 2022.
The 45-year-old singer was said to have behaved inappropriately between 2015 and 2020 when he was aged 34 to 39, and his alleged victims were between the ages of 18 and 23, but he insisted the encounters between them were consensual.
A gender-fluid individual who uses they/them pronouns told Pitchfork that Butler had sexually assaulted them twice in 2015 when they were 21 years old, while three women told the outlet their encounters with the Rebellion (Lies) hitmaker involved unwanted touching, kissing and photos of genitalia, and were “inappropriate given the gaps in age, power dynamics, and context in which they occurred.”
Butler issued a lengthy statement in which he told how he was going through a period of depression and drinking heavily at the time, but maintained the "relationships" were consensual and that Chassagne was aware of what happened.
He said at the time: “I love Régine with all of my heart. We have been together for twenty years, she is my partner in music and in life, my soulmate and I am lucky and grateful to have her by my side. But at times, it has been difficult to balance being the father, husband, and bandmate that I want to be. Today I want to clear the air about my life, poor judgment, and mistakes I have made.
“I have had consensual relationships outside of my marriage.
“There is no easy way to say this, and the hardest thing I have ever done is having to share this with my son. The majority of these relationships were short lived, and my wife is aware – our marriage has, in the past, been more unconventional than some. I have connected with people in person, at shows, and through social media, and I have shared messages of which I am not proud. Most importantly, every single one of these interactions has been mutual and always between consenting adults. It is deeply revisionist, and frankly just wrong, for anyone to suggest otherwise."
