Chad Gilbert, founding guitarist and backing vocalist of the pop-punk group New Found Glory, has died. He was 45.
The band and Gilbert’s wife Lisa Cimorelli confirmed his death on social media in a joint statement. “On the morning of September 20th, Chad Everett Gilbert passed away peacefully in his sleep,” reads the statement. “He left this world surrounded by friends and family and took his final breaths with his wife and mother by his side, just as he wished.
“We are devastated and shocked by how quickly he left us, yet so grateful for how peacefully and smoothly he went. The amount of visitors that crowded the hospital lobby at a moment’s notice is a testament to how beloved and cherished Chad was, and always will be. He was a legendary musician, but his favorite accomplishment was being a husband and father. His biggest dreams came true.”
A cause of death was not given, though Gilbert had been battling cancer for many years. In early 2026, he revealed to People that doctors had discovered three brain tumors and was diagnosed with adrenocortical carcinoma years after receiving treatment for a rare adrenal cancer.
As a founding member of New Found Glory, Gilbert played on all of the group’s albums beginning with their 1999 debut “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and through their 11th and most recent album, 2026’s “Listen Up!” Additionally, Gilbert performed in other groups including Shai Hulud and New Found Glory side project International Superheroes of Hardcore.
Gilbert was raised in Coral Springs, Florida, playing in several bands before forming New Found Glory in 1997 with Jordan Pundik, Steve Klein, Ian Grushka and Joe Marino, who was quickly replaced by Cyrus Bolooki. He dropped out of high school after 11th grade when New Found Glory signed to Drive-Thru Records.
“We sat at a lunch table with eight people,” Gilbert told New Noise earlier this year. “We were all the weirdos with dyed hair, and we didn’t care who you were or what you looked like—you just belonged. Some of us went to different high schools in the same city, but we experienced the same things. We started this band because we wanted to keep feeling like we belonged.”
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New Found Glory became one of the preeminent pop-rock groups of the late 1990s and early 2000s. They broke through on a mainstream scale with 2002’s “Sticks and Stones” and the lead single “My Friends Over You,” which peaked at No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Gilbert was previously married to Paramore’s Hayley Williams. They had a nearly decade-long relationship began in 2007, when she was 18 and he was married to Sherri DuPrey, singer of the indie-rock band Eisley (they divorced the following year). He and Williams got engaged 2014, married two years later and separated in 2017.
Gilbert is survived by his wife Lisa, daughter Lily, mother Jackie and brother Brian.
From Variety US