Arcade Fire’s Régine Chassagne and Win Butler have announced that they are separating after 22 years of marriage.
In a statement posted on the band’s Instagram account, they wrote: “They continue to love, admire and support each other as they co-parent their son,” born in 2013.
They wrote that Arcade Fire would remain a going concern, and that they would continue to do charitable work for the Kanpe foundation in Haiti – Chassagne’s parents moved to Canada from the country during the Duvalier dictatorship.
Butler and Josh Deu formed Arcade Fire while at university around 2001; Chassagne joined shortly after. Butler and Chassagne married in 2003, and a year later the band released its epochal debut album, Funeral.
In 2022, multiple women accused Butler of sexual misconduct. An investigation by Pitchfork found four people, aged between 18 and 23 at the time, who alleged sexual assault, unwanted sexual messages, requests for explicit videos and using his fame to pursue young fans.
At the time Butler said that his extramarital encounters were consensual: “It is deeply revisionist, and frankly just wrong, for anyone to suggest otherwise.”
He apologised “to anyone who I have hurt with my behaviour”, adding: “I am continuing to learn from my mistakes and working hard to become a better person, someone my son can be proud of ... I’m sorry I wasn’t more aware and tuned in to the effect I have on people – I fucked up, and while not an excuse, I will continue to look forward and heal what can be healed, and learn from past experiences.”
Chassagne stood by Butler in 2022, saying in a statement: “I know what is in his heart, and I know he has never, and would never, touch a woman without her consent and I am certain he never did,” she said. “He has lost his way and he has found his way back. I love him and love the life we have created together.”
Arcade Fire has released just one album after the allegations, this year’s Pink Elephant, which received lukewarm reviews and failed to break the US Billboard 200 – their previous five albums reached the US Top 10, with three of them scoring No 1s.
